Somewhere to Turn
by Blue Heart Burning
Summary: Astrid used to be a normal girl, until she killed with a kiss. Having been on the run from a hunger that won't stop, Derek is her saving grace. As she learns to control the hunger, and develops new abilities, she finds herself drawn to Stiles in a way she's not used to. Is this what love feels like?
1. Prologue

Prologue:

The hunger was excruciating. It was all she could think about as she prowled around the darkened club she'd had to sneak into. All she could think about was finding her next meal.

The redhead had just caught the eyes of an average looking male in her electric blue pools, a smirk had begun to raise the sides of her lips when a throb went through her, demanding she turn to face back towards the entrance behind her. A dark haired man wearing a leather jacket had just walked in. His life-force was tremendous. It was the largest she'd ever come across. The room reverberated with him at the centre of the pulses.

Before she could comprehend what she was doing, she'd crowded into him, pushing him back outside. He offered little resistance to her manhandling. Once she'd got him outside, she dragged him to the nearest alleyway where she proceeded to shove him against the wall and glue her mouth to his.

It was like an explosion in her mouth. Her jaw ached with the need for more. More, more, more! He was the definition of delicious.

She could feel his hands exploring her body. Tracing down her sides, sliding up her top over her stomach, curling around to her back. The touch left a burning trail behind. She couldn't get enough. Persistently pushing forward, a slight tremble went through her body, and a deep growl could be heard. The man's hands tightened around her before she was suddenly thrown over a shoulder, causing her eyes to widen, dimming back to grey with a yelp of surprise before they flared an electric blue again as she was placed into a black car.

Their breathing was heavy, hers bordered panting, as he drove. His hands so tight, the leather steering wheel groaned in protest. She let out small whimpers as she rubbed her legs together, the anticipation for their destination building the further they went.

Once they had parked up, the trip between getting out of the car and getting into a loft apartment was a blur of lustful touches, heated kisses and demanding shoves. They had removed their tops half way between the front door and the bed, they had been fumbling with each other's trouser zippers when the back of her legs hit the bed and they toppled down onto it.

Her body was drenched with his energy, her instincts encouraging her to drain him, but just being near his strong life-force allowed her hunger pangs to dim enough for her to come to her senses in order to remember the self-imposed rule. She wouldn't kill them if they weren't scum. And once she started feeding, she wouldn't be able to stop.

"Wait," She grunted as she pulled back from his intoxicating touch. He growled deep and low, but did as she said, stopping above her, his head buried in the side of her neck. She could feel the puffs of breath tickling her neck as he panted, her breathing just as laboured. "I'm Astrid."

"Derek." He grunted in reply as he pressed his nose further into her neck as he began to mouth at her collar.

She moaned as her eyes rolled back slightly. She quickly raised her hands to his shoulders and pushed slightly. "Wait, wait. I have a confession to make." She hurried out.

He sat back with an unimpressed and agitated look. "Seriously? Now?" He growled out.

"Trust me," She let out a panting laugh. "You'll have wanted to know this going in. It might just change your mind." It rarely did before, but she seriously didn't want to drain to one decent guy of his life because she didn't bother giving them a chance anymore.

Derek scrubbed a hand over his face before pushing it through his hair with an aggravated groan before snapping out a "What?" and glaring into her eyes.

For moment, it seemed like his eyes had flashed red.

"I'm only sixteen." Astrid admitted as she watched him wearily.

Derek seemed to freeze up as what she said registered. "You have got to be kidding me." He deadpanned with dark eyes.

"Noo." She drawled out as she squinted her eyes. It was make or break time. If he stopped, he'd have been the first person to do so in the year she'd begun her monthly feedings.

With a heavy sigh, he got up from the bed and walked over to pick up their tops, zipping up his flyer as he went. She watched him curiously. Was he really stopping?

Suddenly, her vision was blocked by a black vest hitting her in the face. A small "Mm!" of surprise escaped her as it fell into her lap.

"Put that back on. I'll drive you home." Derek commanded as he pulled his jacket back on.

Hope rose in Astrid for the first time in the year she had needed to kill to live. "Wait!" She reached a hand out to him. "What are you? You're not human, too much life-force."

Derek scoffed. "You can't tell? Are you newly turned?" He asked.

"I've been, whatever I am, for a year now. I don't know what I am and you're the first non-human I've met. Please, you have to help me." She pleaded.

Derek looked reluctant to help her. "Why should I? In what way would I benefit?"

"Uh... I could help you out! Yeah. Like, a live in maid, cook, and personal assistant all wrapped up in one while you teach me control!" She exclaimed excitedly. "Please. I don't want to die and I don't want to kill anymore." She whispered as she looked down whilst clenching her top above her chest.

It was silent for a moment and Astrid felt her eyes begin to tear up as her heart sank. He wasn't going to help. She was going to be alone again with this horrible hunger she couldn't control and she'd kill even more people because she was too scared to do the right thing and just kill herself. A growled sigh reached her ears as Derek tugged angrily at his hair.

"Fine." He bit out in agitation. "But first I'll take you home. Come by tomorrow afternoon, and we'll figure something out."

Astrid straightened so fast her back cracked. "Really?" She gasped out. "You'll help me?"

"Yeah." Derek grunted. "I'll help you, but in exchange, you'll be part of my pack, which makes me your Alpha, your leader, and you'll have to do everything I say from now on. Got it?"

"Yes!" Astrid shouted. "I can do that!" Her eyes began to glow purple in her happiness. It was the first time she had felt positive in a year. And it was because he was going to help her, protect her and give her a place to belong. She owed her sanity to him now, she would have lost it soon enough if he hadn't walked into that bar when he did.

"Great. Get dressed, I'll take you home for now."

"Ah." Astrid started. "I'm an orphan. I ran away from the place I was staying when I accidentally killed the guy I was kissing."

Derek sighed again, this time with exasperation. "I'm not giving up my bed. You can sleep on the sofa." He stated warningly as his eyes flashed red again.

"Aye, aye Cap'n!" She saluted him. At his continued glower, she scrambled off of the bed with a giggle, a beaming smile never slipping from her face. She was on cloud nine, she was finally going to belong somewhere, a place where she wasn't some freak.

As she was about to pass him, she lunged towards him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He stiffened almost before she even touched him, but that didn't faze her. She buried her face in his side as she whispered her gratitude. "Thank you, so much." She let go almost as quick as she had grabbed him and went to the sofa, where she sat down before twisting and flopping over onto her back with closed eyes, letting out a content sigh.

A few moments later, a soft rectangular material settled over her. She opened her eyes to see Derek retreating back to his bed before looking down at herself. He'd placed a black bed throw over her. With a grin she snuggled down into its warmth. She might still be starving for some sensual touches and another's life-force, but this was the most content she'd felt all year.

"Goodnight, Derek!" She called out cheerily. All she got in reply was a grunt, but it was the best grunt she had heard throughout her whole life. As she settled down, she let out the breath she felt like she had been holding in all year. It was going to be okay. She was going to be okay. And that was awesome.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

Astrid woke to the sound of a kettle boiling in the other room. She opened her eyes to see that her head and arm had fallen off of the sofa, while one leg had gone and hooked over the back of it, the blanket covered her torso only and was also hanging off the sofa and trailing on the floor.

With a groan she shuffled herself round so that she wasn't verging on greeting the floor. She laid there a breathed for a few moments, eyes squinting slightly, looking at the ceiling as her mind pieced together what happened. She sleepily rubbed a hand over her eyes for a bit whilst her mind was set in a calm, fuzzy blank slate. Then, with a large breath in through her nose she pushed her body every direction in an intense stretch letting a loud, drawn out groan. "Mmmmmaarrgh!" And then flopped back onto the sofa with a sigh.

Humming contently to herself, she rolled herself up on the sofa, keeping her eyes closed, and drowsily rose before beginning to stumble towards the sounds of boiling kettle. "Hmm." She greeted Derek when she got there.

Derek raised an eyebrow at her dishevelled state. Her hair was fuzzed-up at the back and on one side while the other lay flat, if slightly mussed. Her top had folded showing half of her stomach and one of her trouser legs was half way up her calf.

Derek placed a plate of toast in front of her before pouring himself a cup of coffee and leaning back against the kitchen counter to watch her as she ate. Astrid started off by nibbling tiny pieces, but as she started to become more alert, she was taking larger bites and becoming more animated in her movements as opposed to her sluggishness moments before.

"Where's your stuff?" Derek questioned her after finishing his drink and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Mm. Most likely still in the lost and found at the station." She replied.

"What? Why is it there?" Derek demanded.

"It's what I do. I have a picture of me and my dad at the top, get a passer-by to call in a found bag for me, do my thing, and pick it up the next day by describing the bag and mentioning the picture, which they'll check, and I get it back with a 'You need to be more careful with your belongings, young lady.' I apologise and move onto the next town, city, whatever." She explained pulling the final slice of toast to shreds and placing them in her mouth. "I usually stay at the persons I'm sleeping with, or have them pay for a room for the night, so it's cheaper like this."

Derek sighed. It wasn't ideal, but it was effective if she'd done it for a year with no problems. "I'll drive you to the station and you can go in and get it, then we'll come back and talk."

"'Kay." Astrid agreed before finishing the last of her toast and jumping up to smooth out her appearance. She ran her hand through her hair a couple time to straighten it out, pulled her trouser leg and top down. She hesitated a moment before sticking her hands into her pocket, one pulling out a pack of gum, and the other pulling out a hairband. Derek rolled his eyes at her with a sigh as she took four pieces of gum and put her hair up in what looked like an aborted attempt at a cross between a ponytail and a bun.

Walking passed her and grabbing his car keys he called back a simple "Come on." Whilst pulling on his jacket, grabbing hers and holding the door open for her as stepped passed. He tossed her jacket at her at the bottom of the stairs before going out to his car.

It was a Sunday morning, so Beacon Hills was still relatively quiet as they drove over to the station. Derek parked around the corner, a road up from the station. He looked at Astrid expectantly. Astrid looked back in confusion before stating, "You can't be serious." At Derek's raised brow and amused look, she again stated, "You are serious. Okay then." Before climbing out of the car and beginning her mini trek to the station in order to pick up her bag.

As Astrid closed the door, Derek stiffened as he picked up the scent of an unknown wolf. An unknown Omega wolf.

Astrid walked into the Sheriff's Station to see a desk with a woman and teenage boy behind. She'd walked in just as the boy had asked 'Tara' for help with a math question. They hadn't noticed her yet, as they were looking over the question the boy was struggling with. Astrid felt her breath catch at the sight of the boy. Her chest was tight and her palms began to sweat as her heart raced. Her hunger surged forward, tearing at her insides. He looked so good.

She must have made an uncertain noise because the pair looked up, and the woman, 'Tara', came over to the desk with a reassuring smile. Her name-tag identified her as Deputy Tara Graeme. "How can I help?" She asked the, obviously, nervous girl.

Astrid froze for a moment before stuttering out her question. "Oh! Um, I er. My bag?" She questioned. "I mean! My bag is missing, was it handed in? I don't – It's a black rucksack, with a bit of red on the, er, front pocket. There's a, there's a picture of me and my dad in it." She fumbled out, waving her hands about slightly.

The boy was smiling now, and Astrid wished the floor would swallow her whole. The boy picked something up from near him and handed it to Deputy Graeme. "Here, Tara." He said before giving Astrid a smile and returning to his homework with fidgeting hands.

Deputy Graeme check inside the bag and pulled out the picture of me and my dad. "You look a lot younger in this picture." Deputy Graeme said.

"Yeah. I was thirteen. The picture was taken the same month dad died." Astrid replied quietly.

The boy looked up to give her an understanding smile before looking back down again, this time his leg was bouncing. Deputy Graeme gave her back her bag with a gentle smile and told Astrid, "I'm sorry for your loss. Be more careful with your belongings next time, okay?"

"Right. Promise." Astrid replied as she hastened a bye and made for the exit. She hadn't made it fair when she heard Deputy Graeme speak. "Looks like you've become a lady-killer." She teased. Astrid felt her face heat up as the whiny "Tara~" echoed out behind her.

Her face felt hot and her heart continued to race for the walk back to the car. The embarrassment was thrumming through her veins. She couldn't believe how stupid she had been. Once the car was in sight, she picked up her fast pace even more, yanked open the passenger door, put her bag down and slouched down with a groan.

Derek looked at her with a raised brow. Without any prompting, "Shut up." Astrid moaned, covering her face. There was a snort as Derek put the car in gear and pulled away with a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

It was all business when they got back to Derek's loft.

"What do you know about what you are and what you can do?" Derek quizzed sternly.

"Only about, nothing." Astrid mouthed. At Derek's narrowed eyes, she sighed before she answered properly. "I get, like, ravenous about once a month. My eyes glow blue at the same time. Um… I can't stop myself once I start to feed, so I've killed eleven people now, you would've been the twelfth." Astrid paused to judge his reaction. Derek's face was a blank screen, it didn't show a thing he was thinking. He nodded at her to continue. "Sometimes, it's really bad, like super bad, and my mouth and jaw burn, and my head starts throbbing here," Astrid raised her hand to touch the side of her forehead, just above her temple and in the hair line. "And here." She moved her hand over to the same location, on the other side. "Occasionally, the top of my back and lower back will itch too. It's like I'm getting physical problems, cause I'm not feeding." She shrugged helplessly, pursed her lips and looked down at the floor.

They were both silent for a little while. "When you feed, what are you feeding on?" Derek inquired.

Astrid thought for a moment. "I'm not completely sure." She confessed. "At first I thought it was, like, their souls or something. But whenever the hunger took over, I was being intimate, or I find someone to be intimate with."

"So, anything sexual brings out the hunger." Derek stated.

"I was trying not to say it like that!" Astrid yelped in shock. All Derek did was raise an amused eyebrow at Astrid's embarrassment.

Astrid was rubbing her arms in discomfort as Derek watched her. It felt look he was looking inside her, seeing all her sins laid bare, analysing her, judging her. Eventually he sighed, got up and moved closer to her. He placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "It's not your fault, you know." Astrid jerked in shock before looking at him with wide eyes. "You didn't actually ask me what I was." Derek pointed out. Astrid ignored the obvious topic change in favour of her curiosity.

"I thought it might be rude. I'm not too sure what the rules of the supernatural community are." She jokingly replied, earning an eye roll.

"I'm a born werewolf." Derek stated.

"Whoa! Seriously?" Astrid questioned leaning forward. "So werewolves are real?"

Derek raised a brow at her. "You're not human, yet you don't believe in other non-humans, like werewolves?"

"Well, I figured mine may have been a mutation or something, and the other supernaturals were too. Like vampires, don't naturally make enough blood, which is why they're so pale, and they'll, like, attack you, bite you and drink you're blood because of a chemical imbalance which makes them think, 'oh, this is totally normal!'… Or you know, something. Things like that. But I have no idea how make werewolfitutde a natural mutation. Unless your eyes glow and you growl, and that is literally it."

Before Astrid could comprehend what was happening, Derek's eyes had flared red, his teeth had grown, claws had slipped out, side burns had developed on his otherwise clear face, and his brow had furrowed and thickened over the tops of his eyes and he let out a large roar. It echoed around the bare loft, enhancing the sound exponentially. Astrid let out a whimper and slumped back further into the sofa automatically. "Woah…" Astrid breathed out once her tremors were under control.

"Your reaction was the result of being under my command." Derek explained, looking like a normal human being again. "As a pack member, you'll feel the need to keep the Alpha, me, happy with you, and to bond with other members of the pack. It's instinct." Derek explained.

"So, who else is in your pack?" Astrid questioned. She'd been lonely the past year, she liked the idea of having friends again.

"There are two that don't want to be part of my pack, and are on the border, but other than that, I haven't started building it yet." Derek said. "If I hadn't run into you, I would've been looking into potential recruits today."

"Oh. Sorry, Derek." Astrid said, ducking her head awkwardly.

"Why are you apologizing? I've started building my pack by accepting you into it. I'm already ahead of schedule." Derek smirked. Astrid let out a small laugh. "Now, get up." Derek ordered.

"Wha- why?" Astrid questioned at the abrupt command. She rose to her feet anyway.

"I want you to turn by choice." Derek stated.

"Turn by… What? What do I turn?" Astrid asked in confusion.

"Those times when the hunger was really bad, you said your head, jaw and back were irritated or started to hurt. That was your body trying to change, turn into your feeding form. Which is also likely to be you combat form too." Derek explained.

"Okay." Astrid snipped. "I'll give it a whirl… What do I do exactly?"

"Think about how you felt during those times, imagine you're feeling it again now. Bring it out." Derek suggested.

"Not questioning you or anything, but you realise I haven't eaten yet, and if I do bring out my "feeding form", I may very well feed on you. You do realise that, right? And have a plan, preferably?"

"I was just going to knock you out, if that happened." Derek shrugged as if that was obvious.

"Oh, well. That's great. You were just going to, knock me out!?" Astrid shrieked. Derek nodded. "Oh my God." Astrid breathed.

"Don't try to feed from me, and I won't." Derek suggested. "Now you have incentive too." Derek gave a smug smile.

"You're a bastard, aren't you?" Astrid questioned seriously. "A sadistic, sour bastard. You're a Sourwolf. A sadistic Sourwolf."

Derek growled. "Don't you dare start calling me that too."

"Too?" Astrid raised an eyebrow at Derek. "One of your 'don't wanna be' pack members calls you that?" She questioned.

"No. One of their friends. In fact, pretty much his only friend." Derek grunted out.

"What are they? Are they a wolf too, or something else?"

"He's human."

"Seriously? So humans are allowed to know about the whole," Astrid rolled her hands around in front of her. "Not human, thing?"

Derek rolled his eyes. "Ideally, no. But it happens. It's when they're hunters that it becomes a real problem." Derek explained.

"Hunters? Like, ghost hunters, but for, you know, the living?" Astrid asked.

"Not how I'd put it, but yes." He replied.

"Oh. I'll, uh, be more careful from now on then." Astrid assured.

"Good. Now shift." Derek demanded.

"Damn. I was kinda hoping you forgot about that." Astrid tried sweetly.

"Well I didn't." Derek watched her expectantly. She reluctantly complied, but not without letting him in on her displeasure of doing so. He ignored her reluctance.

She rolled her shoulders, tilted her head either side, closed her eyes and breathed. She thought about the aches, the itching, and the burning. She focused on her hunger. The empty ache, the need for more, the satisfaction of finally being full. As Astrid focused on the things she usually blocks out, she felt the burns as tingles, the itchiness as moving muscle and the aches as minor pressure. She was forced to hunch forward with a gasp when she felt a push on her back. There was a sound of squelching suction from behind her as she felt her back shift. She clenched her eyes shut and locked her jaw.

"Stop fighting it. Let it happen." Derek commanded with authority. Astrid felt her body loosen on instinct as she let out a heavy breath. "That's it." Derek encouraged as her muscles started shifting more naturally again.

She felt as a rope of muscle uncoil from around her waist, unlocked her jaw when she felt the prickling, and flattened herself forward as her back pushed out. As she was about to close her hands into fists, she met resistance. With a glance down, Astrid saw her nails had extended and seemed more like claws now.

With a sudden lurch and sharp gasp, Astrid fell forwards, off of the sofa and collapsed on the floor. Her throat was scratchy and burning, but her back didn't hurt anymore, her mouth and jaw weren't burning, and her head wasn't throbbing. She felt better than ever. She felt strong, like she was in the middle of an adrenaline rush. She lay there panting for breath as she took stock of her body. There was movement from her back, she could see a thick rope of black muscle twitching on the floor by her hip and could feel the twitches of an extra two appendages on her back as they began to settle down around her.

She let out a sigh as Derek crouched down beside, so that he was in her line of sight. "You did well." He praised with a genuine, bright smile. "Good work, Astrid."

Astrid gave a relieved laugh as she looked at him. "Thanks."

Once Astrid felt like she could get up safely, Derek helped pull her up to her feet and steadied her while she got used to difference in weight distribution. She was suddenly heavier on her head and back.

"This is disorienting." Astrid complained lightly with a small lisp, causing Derek to huff out a slight laugh.

"If it's any consolation," he started. "You're very pretty."

Astrid thought on that for a moment. "Yes, it is. I feel slightly better now." She grinned cheekily. "So, what do I look like?" She wondered.

"Well, you have black wings, a black tail, talons and black horns. You can look in the mirror if you want." Derek said.

"I want." Astrid nodded. "Lead the way!" She paused. "And guide me too, please. I don't want to fall over, just yet." She grinned.

Derek rolled his eyes, folded one of her arms through his and walked her over to the full length mirror on the other side of the room.

Astrid stood there looking at her 'new' self. There wasn't anything majorly different to her face, like with Derek. Her lips were plumper, and not chapped like they were before she 'shifted'. Her eyes were brighter, more enhanced like when someone wears mascara and eyeliner, but without it. Her hips are wider, waist slimmer, chest bigger, stomach flatter. Her skin was slightly darker and smoother. Her hair was healthier, not even a sign of the split ends she was sure littered her hair any other day. But you could still tell it was her. Just with wings, a tail, horns and talons. She opened her mouth to see if there was a reason for the slight lisp she had.

"My teeth, are pointy." She stated in disbelief.

"No. Your teeth, are fangs." Derek mockingly corrected her.

"Huh." Astrid returned. "This is so weird." She tilted her head. "I am, simultaneously, terrifying and … Beautiful isn't quite the word, but, attractive will do. Appealing. Alluring. Fertile." Derek snorted at that one.

"Fertile? That's how you want to describe your shift?" He asked in amusement.

"Yes." Astrid said defiantly, straightening her back and pushing her chest out. "Fertile. I look very fertile." She stated waspishly. "Don't you just wanna get in on this action?" She waved a hand down her body. "I am now the Fertility Goddess." Astrid joked, raising her head.

"You're not far off, actually." Derek told her as she dropped her head back down. "Although, I'm thinking more along the lines of some type of succubus or cambion."

"I know what a Succubus is, but what's a Cambion?" Astrid questioned with furrowed brows.

"Cambions are the offspring of a succubus or incubus with a human partner." Derek informed her. "They have the abilities of their supernatural parent, but often with a deformity of some kind. Which is where the wings, tail, talons, horns and fangs most likely come from. Since succubi and incubi are usually pretty much human looking, but with the ability to appear as the ideal person to their victims and enter their dreams. They can manipulate the dreams of the people they intend to feed from, and feed from their sexual desires and urges like that. It prolongs their victims' life, so they can feed longer and in intervals as well as going undetected." Derek explained. "But that's the limit of my knowledge, so you could be a full succubus and the 'deformity' cambions are said to have are just the inability to control their shift or having been born with an extra limb, or lacking one of them."

"So I could still, most likely, be a Cambion?" Astrid asked.

"Yes." Derek nodded as he folded his arms over his chest and leant against the wall next to the mirror.

"Okie dokie then." Astrid said chirpily, bouncing her arms up slightly, her tail, subconsciously, falling suit and flicking up. "Either way, I am a sexual predator. Awesome." She finished sarcastically.

Derek hummed a small laugh. "You'll be okay. I'll help you when you need me to, and when I build the pack, you'll have even more people to help you if you need it."

"Yeah, I know." Astrid nodded, looking into her mirrored eyes. "Thank you, seriously. I haven't felt relaxed and safe all year."

Derek pushed up from the wall, patted her shoulder and walked away.

Astrid's body suddenly stilled. "Wait, Derek! How do I go back to normal?" She called turning towards where she had least seen him. "Derek?" She called out when she couldn't see him.

"Figure it out!" He called back as she heard the front door being slid open. "I'm going out. I'll be back late. There's food in the kitchen, help yourself." And with that she heard the door slide back into place.

"… You can't be serious!" Astrid yelled out. Her tail and wings flaring up in her agitation. "You bastard!" She hissed. "Imma gonna rip you a new one when you get back! You, you, you damned Sourwolf!"

Night had long since fallen by the time Derek got back to the loft.

Astrid was about to lay into him about leaving her like that, for hours, without a suitable explanation when he cut her off. "I found a potential pack mate. We need to go clear out the meeting place. Our hideout, is you want."

"I want. But, is that why you left? To go potential-pack-member hunting?" She asked.

"It was a bonus to the reason I left." He replied whilst tossing her jacket to her.

"Soo… Why did you leave, then?" She insisted.

"To hunt." Derek said with an end-of-discussion tone.

"Oh." Astrid muttered in confusion.

Astrid followed Derek out of the loft and down to the car. They drove in silence to their 'meet up' destination, which turned out to be an abandoned train warehouse. "Beautiful place you got here." She joked. Derek gave her an unimpressed look before getting out the car. Astrid followed his lead with a mimed "Okay then."

When they walked in, it was pitch black. Astrid heard the sound of shuffling feet moving away from her, a click, and the place was suddenly lit under a gentle illumination. She could see a cart in the middle of the room, letting out the light which flooded its interior.

Other than the cart, the warehouse was barren. Astrid looked around room in confusion. "What, exactly, are we supposed to be doing?"

"You're going to clean. I'm going to watch." Derek said with a smirk as he leant in the doorway of the, door less, cart. Astrid stared at him for a moment. "Hurry up, Astrid. Broom, mop, bucket of soapy water, duster, cloth. It's all in here. Start cleaning."


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

It was early afternoon when Astrid woke up to an empty loft the next day. There was no sign of Derek as she stumbled into the kitchen for something to eat. As she went to open the fridge, she saw a piece of paper attached to the door. With sleepy eyes, she read through the letter.

 _Astrid,_

 _Checking on the others._

 _Get ready, finish cleaning and wait for me there._

 _Derek_

Astrid groaned as she scratched her stomach while stretching. She pulled open the fridge to pull out the milk and drank from the bottle before putting it back and grabbing the butter, which she then placed on the kitchen counter, before closing the fridge door and going to grab the bread from the cupboard on the other side. Due to laziness, she didn't toast the bread, just buttered and ate it.

After finishing her buttered bread, she gazed at the stairs vacantly, imagining walking over to them and going up, before actually doing so a couple minutes later.

Astrid had a procrastination shower in order to delay cleaning duty and to help her to wake up properly, she brushed her teeth, got dressed and headed out of the loft to begin her trek to the abandoned train warehouse.

Astrid could feel the prickling feeling on her back that indicates when she's starting to get too hot as she's walking. It started as just a prickling sensation, before becoming itchy. The feeling began to spread throughout her whole body, her nerves were coming alive. It was when her breathing became laboured that she realised something was wrong. Astrid began to walk faster as her heart began to race. As she walked she took furtive glances around her, trying to find the reason for her discomfort. When she couldn't find anything, she brought her arm up higher as it swung with her step, and broke out into a run. Astrid hadn't been paying attention to what was in front of her when she collided with someone and they both went down.

Astrid pushed herself up with a groan, the person beneath her grunting in pain. "Sorry!" Astrid hurriedly said as she stood up from the man she'd knocked over. She froze as she was about to give him a hand up as she felt the same awareness pulse through her again. It was similar to Derek, however it seemed more volatile but with less power to back it up. It was as the man grabbed her offered hand to help pull himself up that she felt the burning, itching ach crash over her body. She'd subconsciously fallen into a state of fight or flight. Forcing herself to take a calming breath, she pulled the man to his feet and stepped back from him, watching him wearily.

"It's fine." The man snapped as he dusted himself off. He stopped what was doing to look at her, giving a quick sniff in her direction. "You're not human." He stated. Her eyes widened and she backed away. "Hey-" She didn't listen to what else he had to say, just swerved around him and ran as fast as she could. "Wait!" She heard him give chase.

He was gaining on her and her heart was racing, her lungs were burning and her body was trying to shift. All she could feel was an overwhelming sense of panic, she just needed to get away, and she needed to get away right now!

She was running across a road when she heard a loud screech of tires as someone slammed on their breaks. Astrid twisted towards the sound, putting her hands up in a hopeless attempt to stop the car herself. It stopped barely an inch from her hip, before she quickly hurried around the side so the car was between her and the man chasing her.

"What the hell were you thinking, young lady!?" A voice bellowed from the open window of the car. When she payed attention, she noticed it was the Sheriff's car, and the man behind the wheel must've been the Sheriff. Just as she opened her mouth to answer, her chaser came into view, fully wolfed out. The Sheriff followed her fearful gaze to the man, who was once again normal looking. The Sheriff got out of his car, putting a hand on his gun. "Can I help you with something, sir?" He questioned.

The wolf backed up. "No. I'll be leaving." Before he turned around and dashed off again.

Astrid's heart was still racing and she couldn't tear her eyes away from the fleeing figure. She jumped with a small shriek as she felt a hand on her arm. She turned wide eyes towards the Sheriff. "Are you okay?" He asked her. "Did he hurt you?" She shook her head. "Just shook you up, huh?" She nodded. "Okay. Would you like a lift somewhere? Like school?" He questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm not, I'm not enrolled yet." She stuttered out.

"So you're new to town then?" He asked as he opened the passenger door for her, guiding her in as he did.

"Yeah. I was, uh, just kinda, adopted, like, two days ago." She got out haltingly as she settled into the seat. The Sheriff nodded as he shut the door. Astrid focused on calming herself down as he walked round the front of the car and got back into the driver's seat and started the car.

"I'm Sheriff Stilinski, and you are?" He said as put the car back into gear.

"Astrid." She replied. "Astrid Libitina."

"Okay, Astrid. Where am I taking you?" Sheriff Stilinski asked her.

"Oh, umm. Any where's fine, really. I'm just kinda, checking the place out. My guardian had to go check on something, so I decided to go explore." She explained whilst nervously rubbing the palm of one hand with her knuckles.

"How about a quick stop at the school then. We can pick you up some enrolment papers, save your guardian a trip." He suggested with a quick glance her way.

Astrid began to nod slowly. "Yeah." She stretched out, before exclaiming. "Yeah! That's a great idea!" With a big smile squeezing her eyes shut.

Sheriff Stilinski gave her a look of amusement. "To the school it is, then." Before indicating to turn right. "My son goes to the Beacon Hills High School. I could get him to show you around, if you'd like?"

Astrid beamed at him. "That'd be great!" She hesitated and her expression dimmed slightly. "But only if he wants to." She finished.

"Oh, he'll want to." The Sheriff says, mock threateningly causing Astrid to laugh.

The rest of the journey is filled with comfortable silence. Astrid watched as the scenario flew by the window, memorising the route for future reference. As they grew closer to the school, Astrid felt her heart flutter with nerves and began to rub her knuckles across her palm again. She almost held her breath as they pulled into the parking lot.

As they got out of the car, free period students that were nearby turned to watch as she was led by the Sheriff to the school office. It was an easy process. They went in, made small talk, asked for enrolment papers and left. Easy. It didn't stop Astrid's sigh of relief once they were out of the building though. Astrid heard the Sheriff's amused chuckle from behind her. She turned her head and stuck her tongue out at him, which only caused him to laugh more.

"I'm going to head back to the station. Do you want me to drop you home?" He asked her.

"Nah. I'm gonna go get something to eat before I head back." Astrid replied. "Thanks though. For the offer, and," She held up the papers. "For these too. I really appreciate it." She smiled.

"Not a problem. Be careful, okay, Astrid?" He bid her as he got into the car and drove off.

She watched him go with a smile before her face dropped into a look of confusion. "Now how do I get to the warehouse from here?" She asked aloud to herself. "Uh oh."

~\\(®_®)/~

When Astrid finally found her way back to the warehouse, but only after stopping for some food, she rolled up her sleeves, tied back her hair, grabbed the mop and started running around the room like a crazy person whilst yelling. "Ahhhh!"

It was dark outside and had been for a while by the time Derek pulled up by the warehouse. But it was still this scene he walked in on. He stood watching as Astrid ran around with a mop and yelling for a couple minutes. "What the hell are you doing, Astrid?" He asked in helpless exasperation.

The shock of Derek being in the warehouse with her was enough for Astrid to trip over the mop as she stopped pushing but kept running. She went down with a high pitched squeak. Derek shook his head at the display. "You know what? I don't care. Put the mop and bucket away and clean yourself up in the toilets. I grabbed your bag from the loft on my way." Derek said, showing her the bag before taking it into the train cart with him.

"Aye aye, Cap'n!" She saluted his retreating back from her position on the floor.

It was as she was pulling her jumper over head that everything went dark. "Derek?" She called out, tentatively. She shuffled towards the toilets door slowly and pushed it open slightly. She could vaguely make out Derek in the doorway of the train cart, he was looking at her, one hand raised with a finger over his lips. It was then that she heard the footsteps hesitantly descending the stairs and saw as a flashlight began to bounce across the walls. Astrid watched as a cute, tall boy came down the steps and assumed he was the potential pack member Derek was talking about. She watched as he moved the flashlight around the room before he jumped as the light landed on Derek, leaving the boy wide-eyed.

Derek moved back into the cart and flip the light switch hanging from the top of the cart on, flooding the room in light. Astrid tilted her head to the side as she studied him in the light. His hair was a light, mousy brown and his eyes were blue.

"What do you think of Isaac Lahey, Astrid?" Derek called out from his place in the cart doorway. The boy, Isaac, jumped and spun around to face Astrid, where she was peeking out from the toilet door.

Astrid smiled. "I like him." She stepped completely out of the room and held her hands behind her back, bouncing on her feet a little. "His life-force is really strong for a human too." She said. "He'll definitely be a good pack member." She grinned at Isaac, watching as he relaxed.

"Good. If his life-force is as strong as you're implying, his chances of survival just shot up." Derek said as he began walking towards Isaac. "You ready?" He asked once he was stood in front of Isaac.

Isaac gulped slightly, Astrid watched as his Adams apple bobbed, before jerking his head in a nod and whispering a quiet, "Yeah."

"Lift your shirt." Derek commanded as he began to crouch down. Isaac did as he was told, raising his shirt with his right hand whilst his left kept hold of the flashlight. The sight of Isaac's bare torso brought back Astrid's hunger, causing her to swallow heavily as her muscles began to twist and unfold. She felt as her tail unfurled from around her waist and her wings itch under the skin. She was sure her eyes were glowing blue by now. She was brought back from her musing as she saw Derek bite into Isaac's side. There was nothing sexual, or even sensual, about the bite. Isaac looked like he was in pain and Derek looked bored, yet determined. But it didn't stop Astrid's mind from interpreting it differently.

"Derek. I'm really hungry." Astrid whimpered as she clenched and unclenched her hands over and over. She could feel the growing resistance as her nails grew and sharpened. The pressure on her head and back let her know that her horns were pushing up and her wings releasing with a slight suction. Her mouth felt stuffed as her teeth changed. Derek turned to look at her.

"Wait ten minutes, and I'll talk to Isaac about helping you out for a bit." Derek decided.

Astrid nodded. "Okay." She gasped with a slight lisp. She turned and went back into the toilet where she leant against the sinks with her eyes clenched shut. She was able to calm her breathing down and retract her fangs and claws. A couple more minutes and she felt her wings settle over her back, felt the itch as her skin grew over it in a thin, breakable layer.

The ten minutes must have been up because she heard Derek call her name from outside. By the time she was back with the two other members of the pack, her horns had shrunk down, but were still visible. Isaac was sat in one of the seats built into the train cart, Derek was stood next to him, leaning back with his arms crossed over his chest.

"I'll be here to pull you off of him if I think you're taking too much. Got it?" He told her. Isaac nodded with a small smile when she looked to him hesitantly.

"Okay." Astrid whispered as she walked over to the two. She stopped in front of Isaac and pushed him back into the seat slightly. He followed her directions easily. Astrid pursed her lips gently before slipping a leg to the side, where the walk way was, while she hooked the other over the top of Isaac's lap, settling down on top of him. She felt as her heart picked up pace, the anticipation of a feed labouring her breathing and warming her body. She leant closer to Isaac slowly, trying to maintain as much of her control as she could when she sensed his rising interest. Then began to tentatively feed from him like that, but the closer she got, the hazier her head felt. With a sudden surge of speed, she latched her mouth to his, arching into him with a deep moan. She felt him raise his hands to her sides, caressing gently. She rocked her body forwards roughly, eliciting a moan from the both of them, his hands tightened around her, gripping and pulling, grinding her down onto him. She felt as she was flooded with him. She felt as his pleasure rocketed passed natural levels, heard as his heart began to stutter.

She felt like she was suddenly drenched in icy water. Gasping, she tried to struggle away from the hands restraining her, keeping her from her meal. Hisses escaping her lips savagely. All she could focus on was the boy in front of her, filled with sexual pleasure, heart pounding after what they had done. It took a while, but other sounds began to filter in.

"Control yourself!" A voice snapped harshly from directly behind her. She flinched forwards slightly, her brows furrowing in confusion. She turned her gaze towards the dominating voice behind her. Red eyes and sharp teeth met her gaze. Slowly, she began to recognise the face. Derek.

"Sorry." Astrid rasped out. "I'm okay now." Her voice has harsh, and her breathing was still marginally laboured. Derek's grip tightened slightly, before releasing and watching her closely. She let out a big sigh before running her hands through her hair and gripping her strands tightly in order to centre herself. "Okay. I'm good. No worries." She said with a shaky smile.

Derek nodded. Isaac smiled tiredly. Astrid closed her eyes. No worries.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Astrid was dozing in the front seat when they pulled up by the Lahey residence. "The bite will be gone by morning." Derek was saying to Isaac. "I'll be by in a couple days, to lock you up for the full moon. Until then, lie low. Got it?"

"Got it." Isaac agreed. The sound of the back door opening caused Astrid to open her eyes slightly, her gaze settling on Isaac's retreating back as he headed towards the front door of his house. Her eyes closed again as Derek started the car and began heading back to his loft.

She fell in and out of consciousness the rest of the drive back, waking momentarily as Derek pulled her out of the car and carried her bridal style up to his apartment, where he laid her down on the sofa and covered her with the bed throw.

What felt like seconds later, Astrid opened her eyes to find herself in a boy's bedroom. There was a desk with a computer to the right, directly in front of her was an occupied bed, to her left, there were a set of draws with a bookshelf behind her. To the right of the bed was a window, curtains drawn, but with a sliver of the night sky visible through the gap. Astrid took a step forwards as she looked at the sleeping figure, trying to see who it was. She came to a standstill as she recognised the features of the boy from the Sheriff's Station, relaxed in sleep. She felt a shiver run through her body as it began to shift. Her tail began to sway behind her as her body took on a more mature and sensual appearance that accompanies her extra appendages, however, her horns, fangs, talons and wings remained dormant. Astrid tilted her head and squinted her eyes as she tried to puzzle out why that was, before they widened as she watched a see-through version of herself step forwards and raise a knee to rest on the edge of the bed as she leant down to run a hand through his hair, round the side of his face, and down to his chin.

His face scrunched up slightly as he stirred, his body shifting from laying on his stomach so that he lay on his back. The blanket had been pulled with him, leaving his torso mostly uncovered. Astrid watched as her faded self placed her hands either side of the boys head, for balance, as she shifted the rest of her body onto the bed, straddling the boy's waist. Her tail was swaying from one side to another as the other version of her tilted her head and leant forward, aligning their bodies up together, resting her head on his shoulder. The boy let out a groan as her other self rocked forwards, tail flicking excitedly. The ghostly version of herself continued rubbing against the boy, breathing getting heavier. Astrid could feel the sensations coursing through her own body as if she were the one rubbing against the boy, could feel her own breathing become laboured. The boy began to move in response to the ghostly figure above him, moaning as he did so. His scent grew stronger and headier, permeating the air around her. Astrid felt her eyes become hooded as she was bombarded with everything him. The two on the bed began to move faster and more desperately, Astrid's knees beginning to weaken at the friction she felt with the more they did.

She collapsed to her knees with a gasp as the pleasure coursed through her system at the same time the two on the bed rocked their bodies together one last time, eliciting a loud moan.

Astrid rocketed up on the sofa with gasping breaths and wide eyes. Her eyes darted around as she tried to make sense of where she was. The sun was shining through the window wall at the back of the apartment and she could hear Derek in the shower upstairs. She began to calm, heart beat slowing, breaths evening out and eyes closing in relief as she flopped back on the sofa, throwing one arm over her head whilst the other rested on her stomach. She stared at the ceiling while listening to the sounds of Derek getting ready. She followed him as he turned the shower off, stepped out, began to towel off, listened to the rustle of clothing as he got dressed, the padding of his socked feet crossing the floor, flinched as the hinges squeak, and breathed in time to his echoing footsteps descending the stairs.

Derek paused when he got to the bottom of the spiral staircase. "Something wrong?" he questioned with furrowed brows. Astrid shook her head humming negatively. "You're up early." He pointed out.

"Hmm." Astrid agreed. "Weird dream." She huffed as she sat herself up. "I'll go get ready now." She said standing and grabbing her bag.

Derek was silent as he watched her get her stuff and begin heading in his direction. Just as she started up the first step he spoke up. "We'll go get stuff for your room today. Maybe get you some more clothes."

Astrid paused where she was before turning a bright eyed stare towards Derek. "Really?" She asked in surprise.

"Really." Derek nodded firmly.

Astrid gave Derek a bright smile. "Thanks! That'd be so awesome!" Before bounding up the stairs with enthusiasm.

They spent a lot of time looking at bedding and curtains. Derek just stood back after telling Astrid to pick what she wanted. There were some that she really liked but cost more as opposed to others that she liked, but were cheaper. Eventually, Derek let put an exasperated sigh and stepped towards her. "Close your eyes." He ordered. Astrid did as she was told, tilting her head slightly in question. She heard some rustling in front of her. "Right, let's go." Derek said brushing past her. She opened her eyes. Feeling very confused. She watched as Derek walked away with two bedding sets under one arm. She pursed her lips in amused happiness as she trailed after him. If her tail was out, it'd be waving. They had the same issue with the curtains. This time however, when Derek told her to close her eyes, he followed up with; "Lift any hand." To which Astrid lifted her left hand. The curtains she was pointing to were the ones she got. They were purple and white blackout drapes. Astrid just smiled at Derek in response to his questioning look.

After having paid for the bedding and curtains, they went to get something to eat from a diner near the school, which reminded Astrid about the enrolment papers she had picked up with Sheriff Stilinski.

"Hey, Derek." Astrid started as she slurped from her strawberry milkshake. Derek let her know she had his attention with a grunt around his burger. "Would it be okay if I enrolled into school?" She asked nervously.

Derek stopped mid-chew as his eyes flicked up to her. He finished his bite before putting his burger down and wiping his mouth. "Is that what you want?" He asked her seriously. "Most kids are fighting to get out."

Astrid twisted her fork in the tuna mayo and sweetcorn covered potato she was eating with an embarrassed shrug. "Yeah. It'd be nice to go back to school. Learn some stuff, get back into a routine... Make some friends." She whispered out the last bit whilst looking up at Derek through her lashes whilst pursing her lips to the side. She shifted in her seat slightly as he continued to watch her carefully.

"Okay." He said eventually. "If that's what you want, we'll enrol you tomorrow morning, and you can start on Thursday."

Astrid stared at him in awe. "For real?" She asked.

Derek raised an eyebrow at her disbelief. "Yes, for real." He mocked. "Did you actually think I'd say no?" He wondered.

"Well, I wasn't sure." Astrid admitted. "It might have been one of those 'not till you have complete control' things." She explained, trying to imitate him.

Derek looked at her. "I just sent a freshly turned, likely volatile, werewolf to school so as not to disrupt his routine, with just the order to 'lie low'. The only way you'll learn, is with experience and exposure." He stated seriously. "That said, if it turns out you can't handle it yet, I'm pulling you straight out. No questions asked, no negotiating, no whining. Got it?"

"Got it!" Astrid agreed readily, nodding her head quickly with a cheerful smile.

After they finished eating, they went to the clothing stores. Whereas Astrid spent ages choosing her bedding and curtains, she picked out the clothes and shoes she liked straight away and they were able to completely finish up within half an hour, leaving the rest of the afternoon free. Or so Astrid thought. What actually happened was Derek took her to a music store, when she asked why, Derek had said; "To get you a stereo and some CD's, then we'll go get you a laptop. Then we'll leave, unless there's anything else you wanted?" There wasn't, so Astrid picked three mixed CD's and a stereo, let Derek pick the laptop and they were ready to leave.

But Astrid may have got Derek to pull over to get some more food on the way back to the loft, and then stop for some pudding. It is also highly possible she went into the store, by herself, to pick some women's products, which were cleverly, in Astrid's opinion, codenamed 'treats', just in case, because it's always better to be safe than sorry.

They had been planning to relax when they got back, just laze round and get used to being in one another's company, but Astrid had a thought she was having trouble shaking. "Hey, Derek?" Astrid tilted her head towards Derek on the other side of the sofa, where he was sat reading.

"Hm?" Derek hummed distractedly.

"Why do my eyes glow blue?" Astrid asked, pushing forwards, resting her elbows on her knee and crossing her wrists over one another.

Derek paused before looking up at her. "I don't know for succubi or cambion, but when a werewolf has blue eyes, it's because they've killed someone before. Originally, they would be gold. Alpha's though, Alpha's have red eyes."

"Maybe it's the same for succubi then. Maybe that's why my eyes glow blue." Astrid said, her tone was hollow as she ran three fingertips under the bottom of her eye, going from the inside of her eye, following the shape out and then back ago. She scrubbed at her eye quickly before lowering it again. Derek didn't say anything back, just watched Astrid in silence. In a way, Astrid was glad for the silence.

The moment passed when Derek spoke up again. "You know, your eyes went purple for a time, too."

"What?" Astrid questioned. "When?"

"When I agreed to take you in. They must go purple when you experience strong emotions not linked to aggression, like your hunger is." He explained.

"I guess." Astrid agreed leaning back once more. "I wonder if my eyes will turn any other colours." She pondered allowed to herself with a hum.

"I'll let you know if they do." Derek swore, causing Astrid to grin. The grin quickly slipped from her face though, when Derek spoke again. "I think we need to go to the warehouse." He stated as he rose from his seat, abandoning his book as he went.

"Why? What's wrong?" Astrid asked in concern as she too, got up.

"Just a feeling." That was all Derek had to say on the matter before walking over to his jacket and grabbing his keys from the hook they hung on.

As he began heading for the door, Astrid rushed forwards in a panic. "Wait, wait! I'm coming!" She shouted as she hurriedly grabbed her shoes and coat. She was hopping forwards on one foot as she tried to pull the other on at the same time, one arm in her jacket sleeve. When she managed that, she did the same with the other shoe, hopping through the door before sliding it shut behind her and running after Derek whilst putting her jacket on properly.

They had barely began turning on the lights when the pounding of feet began racing down the stairs. From where Astrid stood outside of the cart, she could see as Derek's eyes began to glow while he moved forwards through the cart. "Derek?" Astrid could hear Isaac shouting in panic as he raced down. "Derek!" He called again as he turned onto the floor, stepping off the steps. His face was filled with panic and fear as he jogged forwards and into the cart.

"What's wrong?" Derek asked in a calm, almost serene, voice as Isaac took slow steps towards him.

"My dad." Isaac panted. "I think he's dead." Astrid felt her eyes widen as she stepped into the cart behind Isaac.

Derek unfolded his arm as he came into a line of light shining in from the empty window. "What did you do?" Derek enquired.

Isaac looked down before he answered. "That's the thing," Isaac raised his head with a shake. "It wasn't me."

Astrid saw as Derek's eyes widened the slightest fraction in shock before his features smoothed over. She rested her hand on Isaac's shoulder, causing him to look at her. She pulled him forwards, resting his head on her shoulder with her hand, rubbing the other up and down his back as he struggled to regain his breath.

Once she felt his breathing even out, she gently led him to the seat beside her and pushed him down into one. She sat next to him and kept his head rested on her shoulder as she stroked the front of his hair back on a continuous and soothing manner. She turned her head to watch Derek, who was watching them. She gave him a look when he went to speak. He returned her look with squinted Alpha-red eyes. Astrid held eye contact for a moment, before surrendering and looking back to Isaac, but Derek got the message. Isaac was emotionally vulnerable right now, so at least a little bit of delicacy would be needed. As much delicacy as Derek could handle, anyway.

"Explain what happened." Derek demanded with folded arms.

Astrid looked at him, eyes widened in exasperation, eyebrows furrowed and lips pursed in annoyance, before rolling her eyes up and settling her lips against the top of Isaac's head in comfort.

Isaac held onto the arm Astrid held around his chest with the arm stuck between her front and his side, his other hand clenched at the knees of his jeans. "Dad was, he was questioning me, about school and my grades. He wasn't," Isaac stopped to take a deep breath. "He wasn't happy, and he started breaking things, and then he threw," Isaac's voice had become panicked and laboured as he spoke. Astrid tightened her hold on him and began to rock Isaac in a gentle and calming manner whilst he calmed himself down. Derek waited patiently for him to do so. "He threw a glass. At my head." Isaac breathed. "And, and I got angry! And, and I said it could've blinded me! He just, just told me to get over it, and then it healed. And I ran out. I just grabbed my bike, and I rode off. I left it in an alley, 'cause I felt like I needed to run." Isaac looked up at Derek then. "I swear, I didn't hurt him."

"I believe you." Derek assured before asking, "How do you know he's dead?"

"I went back for my bike, and he must'a follow me." Isaac laboured. "His car was, it was at the front, you know, of the alley? But the door was, it was just completely torn off." Isaac explained, he shook his head slightly in disbelief. "Dad was, he was inside the driver's seat, but he was, oh God... He was torn up. He was really torn up." Isaac's voice became more choked as he talked, and finished with a cracked sob before he silently shook in Astrid's arms.

Astrid continued rocking Isaac as he buried his face in her arm as best he could, both arms were curled up over her own now. She could feel as her arm became damp with the silent tears that were no doubt rolling down Isaac's cheeks.

Derek crowded closer to them, leaning directly next to Isaac's seat with their legs touching. They stayed like that for a few hours before Derek pulled them both up and drove them to the loft where the three of them slept on the sofa.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

The next day had them all up at, what felt like to Astrid, the crack of dawn. Derek and Astrid had to get ready quickly so that they could get Isaac back home in order to get ready for school, and then get him to school on time, before they'll then be proceeding with the whole, getting enrolled into school, thing.

Isaac had needed to run across the entire school in order to get to the boys locker room because he had lacrosse first thing. Astrid may, or may not, have taken some sadistic delight in his misfortune, purely because she just didn't do mornings very well.

Due to Derek deciding to park his car away from the immediate vicinity of the school, before he headed to stalk Isaac's practice, Astrid was left walking to the school office on her own. She soon found that her wracking nerves were not necessary, yet at least, because all she did was hand the forms she'd filled out to the woman at the desk, who then told her to explore the school for the first period while the new principle, who had strangely enough, only started that morning, and come back when the bell rang in order to go over her enrolment with him. And so that's what Astrid did.

She made her way across the school, peaking into rooms and through windows as she went before making her way the field where Isaac and his class were. She slowly made her way over to coach whilst watching a boy in goal, with the number eleven on his vest, as he kept running out of goal, tackling the players and apparently sniffing them.

Astrid came to stand next to the coach as she voiced her question. "Is this part of the game?"

"No." The coach replied. "But according to Stilinski, McCall is failing two classes, is socially awkward and if you look closely enough, has an uneven jawline."

"Huh. Interesting." Astrid replied tilting her head as she looked at number eleven. She saw the coach jerk around to face her from the corner of her eye.

"What the hell are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in class?" Coach demanded sharply.

"I'm enrolling today. I got told to explore while the principle goes over the papers. This is the most interesting thing happening right now though, so I figured I'd stay. That cool?" Astrid told the coach.

"No! Not cool! Get of my field!" He shouted at her, pointing behind him.

Astrid raised a brow at him. "You'd really force a lacrosse-loving teenage girl, off of a lacrosse field, when she hasn't been able to see any in a year? You are a cruel, cruel person. So cruel." Astrid said, shaking her head as she stepped away slowly, watching him with accusatory eyes. He looked very uncomfortable, so she finished with a whispered, "So cruel." As she turned away.

"Alright!" He snapped after throwing a ball out, "Stay. Watch. I don't care. Just shut up!" he finished as Astrid settled into her place feeling smug, watching as number eleven tackled that boy to sniff. This time the two grounded boys seemed to have a small conversation on the ground as number eleven straddled the other boy. "McCall!" Coach shouted after blowing his whistle. "You come out of that goal, one more time!" He thrust his finger down before throwing the other arm up and out. "And you'll be doing suicide runs till you die! It'll be the first suicide run, that actually ends in a suicide! Got it?"

"Yes, Coach." Number eleven replied, retreating back into goal. The coach gave the boy a sarcastic smile and nod.

Someone turned slightly to the coach. "Coach, my shoulder's hurting, I'm gonna sit this one out." Before he walked away from the line and over to the benches. It was then that she noticed Isaac in a number fourteen vest breathing in heavy panted breaths. "Isaac? You okay?" Astrid whispered in concern as she watched him as he had an intense stare down with number eleven. She was startled at the sudden shrill of a blown whistle from right next to her as the coach threw the ball to Isaac who caught it with the lacrosse stick. It was when Isaac kicked forwards and she saw eleven do the same that she felt her body surge with panicked adrenaline, her heart rate increase and her breaths stutter as she realised they were intending to collide, and most likely do some serious damage to one another.

Without even thinking, Astrid jerked forward and raced towards the boys, coming between them just before they collided, grabbed a fistful of their vests in each hand, and realigned their direction, spinning them round and down so that they were on their hands and knees, both facing the way they had come. "Don't even think about hurting Isaac!" Astrid hissed at eleven, feeling her eyes itch slightly as they glowed blue. Her face turned to shock as she saw eleven's eyes glow golden and flicked her gaze over to Isaac, seeing his in a similar state. "Well, shit." She whispered as the coach blew the whistle as he stormed forwards, yanking her up by her arm.

"Are you crazy!? Why would you even run between two charging boys, fitted up to their eyeballs in protective gear, unprotected!? Do you know how much trouble I could get into? I could lose my job!" the coach yelled at her.

"I was just-!" Astrid tried to defend herself.

"No! I told you to leave before, now leave!" He blew the whistle in her face and she flinched back slightly as he walked off, muttering about crazy, suicidal, teenage girls.

"Dya-okay." She muttered as she scratched behind her ear. She quickly bent back down next to the two boys. "You okay, Isaac?" She asked as she put her hand up under the bars of his helmet in order to touch his face. Isaac and eleven were watching behind her, she turned to look and noticed the Sheriff and a couple Deputies walking over to the coach. When she turned back she noticed Isaac was looking pleadingly at the other wolf.

"Don't tell them." He panted out. "Please don't tell them." The other player just blinked in shock at Isaac.

"Lahey!" The coach's voice echoed across to them. When they looked up, the coach gestured for Isaac to go over.

When Isaac had left them, a boy with the number twenty four on his vest nearly barrelled into number eleven in his haste to get to his side. He then hurriedly fumbled off his helmet, revealing the boy from the station. Astrid instantly felt herself straighten up, a small squeak of surprise escaping her lips. Eleven looked at her curiously, noticing her changed demeanour the moment his friend had come over. Astrid watched in dread as a knowing smile started twitching at the corner of his lips.

"I'm Scott, and this is Stile." Eleven, now known as Scott, introduced.

"S'up?" Stiles huffed as he, finally, regained his footing, shoving his helmet under one of his arms.

Astrid raised a hand and gave the two an awkward wave. "Hi." She whispered.

Stiles looked at her curiously before his eyes widened. "Hey!" He exclaimed, causing Astrid to jump. "You're the girl from the station, who came to get her long lost bag. Right?" He smiled at her brightly. Astrid jerked her head in confirmation, her eyes wide. "You're kinda shy, huh?" He asked her sympathetically. Scott snorted before quickly hiding his smile behind his hand. Stiles gave him a weird look.

"You haven't told us your name." Scott said with a head tilt.

"Oh! Um, Astrid." She exclaimed. "I'm Astrid. Hello." She breathlessly gave another awkward wave, feeling herself internally cringe at her out of character reactions. She felt like going home, and never coming back.

Stiles stuck his hand out to her. "Nice to meet you!" He beamed. She saw Scott cover his mouth again before turning his head away from the two momentarily. She quickly grabbed his hand to shake, feeling a pleasant shock go through her, unknowingly causing her eyes to flash pink, which neither boy missed.

"Wow.." She breathed out, looking down at their joint hands in surprise. "So strong."

It was her turn to receive a weird look from Stiles, which she noticed when she jerked her head up with wide eyes after hearing Scott stifle a laugh into his fisted hand. "What?" Stiles asked her in confusion.

"You're uh, you've got a lotta, like a really strong, wow. You're amazing."Astrid stuttered out before what she said clicked in her mind. She watched as Stiles shuffled on his feet in happy embarrassment, quickly glancing at Scott and back. "Your personality!" Astrid exclaimed loudly. "Yeah! That works. You've got a really strong, personality…" She got quieter and trailed off at the end as she looked away while closing her eyes. "Oh my God, Astrid. Can you be any weirder?" She whispered to herself in horrified shock. She felt a tug on her hand, noticed she was still holding Stiles' hand and dropped it like a hot potato. "Sorry!" She shouted. Now both boys were looking at her in amusement. "I've got to go." She suddenly said. "Yeah. I need to speak to the principle about enrolling. I'll be going now." Astrid told them as she turned stiffly and then began to speed walk away in a very obvious manner.

She was nearly off the field, and home-free in her eyes, when a deep voice called out to her. "Astrid?"

"Oh my-!" Astrid grabbed her chest in shock, feeling her heart race yet again. She turned to see the Sheriff jogging over to her.

"Did my son introduce himself?" He asked. "I saw you talking to him and Scott." He explained at her look of confusion.

"Stiles is your son!?" She exclaimed, for what felt like the hundredth time in the last hour.

"Did he upset you already?" He questioned in exasperation.

"No!" She shouted hurriedly, waving her hands in front of her, as if to further dispute that claim. "But I think, he thinks, that I'm weird now. I may have made a fool of myself." Astrid explained with an embarrassed smile as she scratched behind her ear.

Sheriff Stilinski smiled in reassurance as he patted her shoulder. "I'm sure he doesn't." Astrid gave him a look of disbelief. A look he ignored in favour of questioning her. "So what did you get up to yesterday? No more running into cars, I hope." He joked.

"Ha!" Astrid burst out. "No, I've been good." She smiled. "My guardian took me shopping for room stuff and clothes. Got me a laptop too." She told him.

"That sounds nice. Don't forget to thank him." The Sheriff replied.

"I won't!" Astrid assured him with a large smile. "I asked about enrolling too. He was cool with it. He thought I wanted to get settled first, which was why he didn't say anything before." She explained. "I'm enrolling now. Got told to explore for the first period whilst they go over my papers."

"That's nice." The Sheriff told her as the bell for the end of period rang. "So, that's all you did last night? Some bonding with your guardian?"

"And Isaac." Astrid said with a shrug and nod. "He was upset after an argument with his dad, so he stayed round and we all had a huge snug-fest." Astrid finished jokingly before suddenly going serious. "Don't tell them I said that, though. They'll totally hate me." She smiled to show she was kidding.

"Is that so?" The Sheriff's voice was slightly off, putting Astrid on guard. "What time did he meet up with you?"

"Don't worry. It wasn't too late that he came over." Astrid placated him. "It was raining though. But I made sure he dried up properly."

They walked to the school office in comfortable silence after that. Once they had made it to the office, Astrid was asked to wait in a chair whilst the Sheriff went into talk to a boy that one of the Deputies must have picked up whilst Astrid had taken the scenic route with the Sheriff. She wasn't sitting on her own long when Scott and Stiles came to the office and handed a note to the woman at the desk, who then proceeded to give them both disapproving looks. Astrid slid down to slump into her seat as they came towards her, giving hem both a small smile in greeting.

The boys sat in the seats closest to the office, leaning towards it so as to hear what they were saying on the other side of the door. Astrid rolled her eyes and sighed in exasperation. They both shot her innocent smiles in response. She wasn't sure how long the discussion went on for before the door opened, causing her to shoot up in her seat, and the Sheriff stepped out, followed by the boy he was talking to and one of the Deputies. There was a sudden floundering from Stiles as he covered his face with a magazine, Scott just looked around helplessly. Astrid raised a brow whilst the Sheriff looked at the magazine in exasperation. "Hi Scott." The Sheriff emphasised.

"Hey." Scott raised a hand awkwardly.

"Astrid." He nodded to her amicably.

"Hey, Sheriff! How's it going?" Astrid replied with a bright, enthusiastic smile. The Sheriff smiled back before looking at Stiles and shaking his head with a sigh before moving on. "That skill, though." Astrid smirked at Stiles when he peeped over the top of the magazine.

An elder man stepped out of the office before Stiles could reply. "Hello, boys." He greeted. Both boys faces transformed into ones of shock and horror. The man then turned to Astrid. "Miss. Libitina, I believe?" He questioned before continuing at her nod. "I'll talk to the boys first, so that they can get back to learning as soon as possible. And then we can discuss your enrolment."

"Yes, sir." Astrid replied politely as she watched the boys follow the principle into his room with trepidation.

And so the waiting game began again. Astrid was beginning to think she should have waited another week before enrolling. She let out a sigh as she made herself comfortable again. For some reason, she felt a heavy weight settle into her stomach, and she began to worry about Isaac. Her musings were interrupted by the opening door as the two boys emerged looking harried. Although Stiles looked more put off, where as Scott looked more panicked.

"Miss. Libitina." The principle called as he gestured into the room. Astrid released a heavy sigh as she hefted herself up from her seat, her nerves returning full force, and then some. "No need to be nervous." The principle assured her in a somewhat smug confidence. "We're just going to talk how best to get you accommodated." He stated.

Astrid nodded as she took a seat opposite when he indicated for her to. She rubbed her knuckles against her palms as he settled back into his chair, watching her analytically.

"So Astrid," the principle started. "My name is Gerard Argent." He paused, as if waiting for a reaction. She nodded. "It says that you've missed a year. This is a problem. You are a year behind the rest of your peers." He told her. "We can handle this one of two ways." He leant forwards, lacing his fingers together in front of him. "You can go into the year below what you should be, catch up on work you've missed whilst doing extra assignments and then skipping to the correct grade." He stopped to gauge her reaction to this. She must not have looked pleased because he let out a slight chuckle and leant back again. "Rest assured, we'll do what you are most comfortable with." He assured her. "The other option, is that you go into the year you should be at this age, and get assigned a permanent tutor. It'd be student with good grades and little to no extracurricular activities." Astrid nodded as he spoke. She'd be able to make a friend as well if she did it this way. She wouldn't be ostracised as much as she would have if she went into a year below. "If you do choose this route, I have a potential candidate already lined up. Now, which would you prefer?" He asked.

"I have a feeling, that you already know which one I'd prefer, sir." Astrid told him with a cheeky smile.

Gerard chuckled lightly. "Yes. I have an idea." He agreed. He began to shuffle through the paper on his desk before picking up a pen and writing something down. "Alright. You can see you tomorrow morning so that I can give you your timetable and assigned tutor." He said, getting up and opening his office door.

"Thank you." Astrid said as she walked away from the principle.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

Once she got to the front of the school, she knew that Derek wouldn't be picking her up. Since she hadn't killed neither Derek nor Isaac whilst feeding, she had been able to get a vague idea of their whereabouts at all times. It was almost as if she was instinctually keeping track of her prey. She knew where they were, so she'd be able to get to them if she needed to feed again. She didn't like it, but it came in handy now. She decided she would follow her senses to Isaac. One, because he was stationary, unlike Derek who hadn't stopped moving yet, and also because she wanted to check up on him.

So that was what she did. Astrid made her way out of the school and began to follow the pull she felt to Isaac. It was a long walk filled with wrong turns and dead ends. By the time she actually got there, school would be letting out. It was only as she stepped through the door did she actually pay attention to where she had ended up. She was at the Sheriff's Station. Taking a quick glance at the desk, she saw a blonde man watching expectantly. When he noticed her attention had turned to him, he smiled at her. "How can I help you?" He asked.

"I've come to see Isaac. Is he okay?" She asked.

"Lahey?" The deputy checked Astrid nodded her confirmation. "He's not allowed any visitors unless they're relatives." He explained apologetically.

"I'm his sister." Astrid shrugged as if he should have already known that. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"He's only ever had a brother, and he passed away." The deputy told her, not believing her for a second.

"Adopted." Astrid replied, mockingly raising her own eyebrow. The deputy sighed before picking up the internal phone and dealing a number.

"Sheriff, there's a girl at the front desk who wants to see Lahey. Says she's his adoptive sister." He paused. "Of course. See you soon then." He placed the phone back down before looking back to her. "The Sheriff is on his way over to talk to you." He gestured to the space behind her. "You can have a seat if you want. There's water over there." He pointed to the water dispenser with plastic cups. Astrid hurriedly grabbed a cup and poured herself some water. She closed her eyes as she drank, it was like heaven after that walk.

She poured herself another one before heading towards the three waiting chairs. She'd barely sat down when the door next to the desk, which led to the rest of the station, opened revealing Sheriff Stilinski. "Howdy Sheriff!" She greeted raising her cup of water and grinning. He took one look at her and sighed.

"Why do I get the feeling my son isn't going to be my only pain in the neck?" He asked despairingly.

"It's just cause I'm awesome." She assured him with a knowing nod and cheeky wink.

He sighed again before pushing the door away from him, holding it further open so that she could fit through. "Come on then, 'adoptive sister of Isaac Lahey', I'll take you to see your 'brother'."

"I can feel those quotation marks." Astrid told him as she walked under his arm. The Sheriff shook his head at her antics.

"So, how'd you meet Isaac anyway?" The Sheriff questioned her as they walked down the hallway.

"In an abandoned train warehouse I was exploring." Astrid replied whilst looking into the room they'd just stepped into. She could see Isaac through the window of the holding cell. He'd stood up and walked over when he hard her coming.

"Am I getting out now?" Isaac asked desperately, his hands braced against either side of the viewing window. "I'm claustrophobic."

"Sorry, Isaac. You can't until tomorrow." The Sheriff informed him apologetically.

"How come?" Astrid asked, turning to face the Sheriff.

"He's a suspect in his fathers murder and it's protocol." The Sheriff explained.

"But he has an alibi." Astrid told him. "He was with me last night, remember? I told you that."

"But you didn't say a time. You just said after an argument with his father." The Sheriff stated. "And there's evidence of a struggle in the kitchen. I can't release him."

"Well, Isaac left after a fight, that's the kitchen mess, and then came to mine. He didn't make any pit stops on the way. He'd have calmed down if he had." The Sheriff opened his mouth to say something, but Astrid ploughed on, "And we can sue you for this. He's claustrophobic, and you have him locked inside a reinforced closet." Astrid claimed flooding her arms. "You could release him in to my custody. I'll give you my number and you can get him any time. You can even cuff us together, if it makes you feel better." She told him as she looked at him expectantly. She could see the conflict in his eyes. He knew Isaac was innocent, but protocol had to be followed.

 _Come on._ Astrid thought. _Let me take him home._

The Sheriff's eyes became momentarily dazed before they cleared and he conceded to the suggestion. "Alright. Give your number to the deputy on duty out front and I'll sort Isaac out." Astrid watched in surprise as the Sheriff pulled out a ring of keys from his pocket. She hadn't actually thought he would go for it.

"Okay." Astrid blinked in stupefied shock for a moment before she unfolded her arms and walked out of the room, heading back to the front desk.

The blonde deputy looked up as she walked out. "How'd it go?" He asked curiously.

"The Sheriff said to give you my number so that he can get ahold of me if he needs to speak to Isaac again. He's being released to me for the night." Astrid explained, still shocked that it'd actually worked.

And she wasn't the only one. "Really?" The deputy asked in surprise. "Well, okay then." He said uncertainly as he pulled out a clip board of forms from under the desk. "Fill out one of these then, please." He said handing her the clipboard and a pen. She filled everything out, leaving her address empty but putting down the school with a note saying they'd be there every week day. "Address?" He asked with a raised brow.

"I don't actually know it. It's a loft apartment on the edge of town, but I didn't pay attention to the names of roads or anything when my guardian took me home for the first time, not even a week ago." Astrid explained whilst she finished signing where ever he pointed. When she was done, the capped the pen with a satisfied, "There!" And a smile.

Just in time for the door to open and Sheriff Stilinski led Isaac out. Isaac now had on a jacket and his school backpack. Astrid gave him a bright smile as she walked over to the two. "Thanks Sheriff!" She directed at Stilinski, getting a nod of acknowledgment, before turning to Isaac. "You ready to rumble?" She asked holding out her hand for Isaac to take. He returned her smile, but it was tight around the edges. When he fit her hand into his, she felt how tense he was. It was a full moon that night, And he must've been feeling the effects. Add to that, the feeling of being trapped in his cell, and Astrid was amazed he hadn't ripped his way out already. "See ya!" She called whilst pushing Isaac out ahead of her.

Once they were outside, Astrid began to drag Isaac in the direction she could feel Derek was coming from. As they walked, Isaac's grip got tighter as the sun set. She could feel the start of Isaac's claws as they began to press against her knuckles, where his fingers lay entertained in hers. She stopped as Derek's presence seemed to go pass her. She threw her head back with a groan before turning back and bumping into Isaac who had stepped up directly behind her.

His panting breath hit her face in hot bursts. When she looked up, she could see his eyes glowing golden in an intense focus. An intense focus that was directed at her lips. Her eyes widened in realisation. The full moon brings out a wolf's primal urges, and so does being in her presence.

"I'm making you horny, aren't I?" Astrid asked looking Isaac in the eye. He nodded and buried his head between her neck and shoulder. She let out an involuntary gasp when she felt a wet muscle run up her neck from her collar. Her eyes rolled back as she tilted her head to give him better excess when he sucked and nibbled at her pulse point gently. Her heart raced faster and her body vibrated as she partially shifted. She maintained enough control to keep her extra appendages hidden.

In the blink of an eye, she found herself in the nearest darkened area, which happened to be a gap where a set of concrete stairs leading up to an upstairs apartment were hidden from the streets view. His hands had found their way under her top and she could feel his claws scratching at her sides as he gripped her hips and began grinding against her. A whimper escaped her throat, echoed by Isaac's growl. She kept her hands clenched around the fabric covering his biceps.

They'd started a steady rocking motion with their hips. Astrid kept her head tilted whilst Isaac's tongue lapped, and teeth bit, at her neck. Her breathing had developed a catch as she panted against him. There was a pleasant tightening in her stomach and all she could feel was anticipation. She wasn't sure what she was anticipating, but the longer they rocked, the harder and rougher they got. Her legs had involuntarily spread wider and Isaac had spotted one of his between hers. There was barely a breath of space between them, but they kept pushing closer to one another. Her chest got tight as she began to feel light headed, and her eyes were struggling to open as her vision became hazy and fuzzy around the edges.

A sharp bite on her neck and a pounding push up against her caused her to gasp, her eyes flaring purple as the vibrations of Isaac's growl reverberated through her entire body. Astrid let out a long moan as Isaac hooked one of her legs up around his waist, leaving her open to stronger sensations. Their rocking momentarily became jerky as Astrid tried to get more, breaking their rhythm. Isaac's claws dug into the back of her thighs, causing a sting of awareness, as she was lifted up and slammed into the wall. The pain was replaced as her legs wrapped around Isaac's waist in a tight embrace. The tightening in her stomach started to become unbearable. Astrid squeezed her legs tighter, until the tension in them caused constant shivers to rock through them and into Isaac's hips, her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer to her as she pressed her chest up into him. The friction feeling better. She began to let out a steam of moans and whimpers which were accompanied by his growls as Isaac sped up. The rubbing and grinding sent an ecstasy through her blood she hadn't felt before.

The screech of tires outside their dark haven didn't even register in their minds. Nor the chattering of voices heading towards them. They were so focused on getting their release, they didn't even flinch at the presence of two others until a strong roar echoing through their bones brought them of their haze and sent them cowering to the floor. Isaac had crouched over Astrid as he covered his head, Astrid burying her face in Isaac's chest.

When the fear had left them, they looked up from their curled positions to see Derek and Stiles in front of them. Derek with glaring red eyes, and Stiles looking around at everything but them with an embarrassed flush to his cheeks. Horror began to seep through her skin as she realised what Stiles, and Derek, walked in on. The two wolves must have been able to tell something was wrong as they both turned concerned eyes to her. She couldn't reassure them though, her eyes were glued to Stiles' averted ones. Against her will, she felt tears well up in her eyes and her vision blurred. She felt her face scrunch up as she looked down to the floor.

A hand against her back snapped her out of it. She looked to the side, head still facing the floor, to see Isaac leaning towards her. "I'm so sorry." He whispered. She shook her head and gave he a small smile. It wasn't his fault after all. Isaac stood up and reached a hand out to help her up too. She took his offered hand, pulling herself up easily. She started towards the other two as she swiped at the back of her bottoms and the side of her legs.

"We were on our way to break him out when Derek saw you through an alley." Stiles started. "How'd you get him out undetected?"

"I didn't." Astrid said with a shrug. As both Derek's and Stiles' faces began to shade over in horror and panic, Stiles more so than Derek, she elaborated. "I'm his alibi for last night, and he was released into my custody." She patted her pockets as she she spoke, pulling out a piece of paper when she finished. "See?" She asked as she held out the pink copy she'd been given of the form she'd had to fill out.

"Huh." Stiles said as he looked at the paper, stumped. "It's legit and everything."

"Hey!" Astrid exclaimed. "Like I'd actually bother making a fake." She stuck her tongue out at him in irritation. He gave a small laugh of disbelief before turning to Derek.

"Well, this solves everything." He shook the paper at Derek. "I'll call Scott and let him know."


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

That night, Astrid dropped into her bed after putting her phone on charge, since it hadn't being used at all in the past year, and falls into an exhausted slumber while still fully clothed and on top of her covers. She hadn't expected to have any dreams, and if she did, she suspected nightmares, but instead, she found herself back in the building crevice next to the concrete stairs.

Her body was thrumming as she was constantly pushed against the wall at her back. Gasps and moans falling from her lips and echoed by her partner. The hands holding her up were softer, gentler. The mouth on her neck less ferocious and sharp. There was no growling. She ran her hand up his arm, over his shoulder and round his neck. Her fingers splayed out in his hair, shorter than Isaac's. Astrid opened her eyes as the boy pulled his mouth away from her neck, took notice of who it was before her vision went dark as her body pulsed and trembled. "Stiles!" She cried out.

Astrid's eyes snapped open as she took in a heavy breath with a racing heart. She was momentarily still as she took in her surroundings, noting them as her room at Derek's. Her heart began to slow and she squeezed her eyes closed with a mortified groan. She'd done it again. Dreamed about her and Stiles together. This time she had a more active role and there was a more willing participation on his side of the interaction. She rolled over onto her back, covering her face with her hands and internally sobbing. "I'm such a horrible person." She whispered to herself.

Her bedroom door opened and a shadow was cast over her as the light from outside was blocked by a tall figure in the doorway. "You need to get up, Astrid." Isaac told her. "We've got school, remember. It's you first day." He finished teasingly.

"No." She moaned. "Let me die so I don't have to face him."

"What?" Isaac questioned in confusion. "Face who?"

"Stiles." She sighed out, lowering her hands from her face and down to her sides. "He probably hates me and I just dreamed about him." She groaned, scrunching her face up.

"You had a wet dream about _Stiles_?" He laughed. "That's brilliant." She could hear the smile in his voice before she saw it. Her eyes bores holes of fire into him. He raised his hands in defence. "Okay, okay. Sorry." He laughed. "But you can just avoid him at school, you know." He assured her. "And I doubt he hates you." He added as an afterthought.

Astrid didn't get a chance to reply when Derek's voice called up. "Are you two ready yet? Breakfast is almost done, and you've got one chance, and only _one_ , to get a lift!" Astrid was a flurry of movement as she began to get ready, barely giving Isaac time to get out of her room before she stripped down in order to get changed.

Astrid had just finished getting ready for her first day of school, and hadn't even finished coming down the spiralling stairs, when Isaac had to comment on her clothes. "Why are you wearing a blazer over your purple hoodie?" He asked, tilting his head. Derek looked up from where he was reading a book to see what he was talking about, sighed, shook his head and went back to reading.

"What's wrong with it?" She asked looking down at herself. "It'll keep me warm, and looks relatively smart too. Perfect for a first day of school." She sent Isaac uncertain eyes.

"It's just something so _Stiles_." He told her.

"Huh?" This time it was Astrid who was tilting her head.

"Stiles wore a blazer over the top of his hoodie a few times since I've known him." Derek stated, not even once glancing up from his book.

"Should I change then?" She asked the two boys.

"No. Sit. Eat. Then we leave." Derek commanded in annoyance. Isaac just raised his brows before turning back to his breakfast. Astrid hurriedly ate the eggs on her plate before grabbing the toast to finish on the way once she saw the boys getting up to leave.

Not much happened on her first day. She picked up her schedule from Principle Argent, put what she didn't need in her locker, which was just her loose clothes from Gym, which she had had second period. Her schedule coincided with Isaac for the most part, but where it didn't she felt comfortable enough knowing the faces of Scott and Stiles amongst the sea of unknown. The expressions the two boys had made when she had been introduced as the new girl had been comical, and had served in putting her nerves at ease, in the beginning. However, as the day progressed, the boys just smiled encouragingly at her when they made eye contact.

It was in Gym class that anything significant happened. She had shared the class with Isaac, Stiles, Scott, Scott's girlfriend ("but it's a secret, shh")Allison Argent, who's also the principle's granddaughter ("That's why it's a secret.") and, apparently, an earth-bound Goddess called Lydia Martin, otherwise known as Allison's best friend. She was introduced by Stiles, and the raging wave of jealousy that took over at Lydia's introduction wasn't missed by either wolf, nor either girl. Stiles missed it though, thankfully. Coach Finstock had just called both her and Isaac up to climb the wall. Something Astrid had never actually done before.

Astrid had been in the process of checking her harness wasn't going to come apart on her when she looked up and caught Isaac's eyes. He was smirking at her, and his eyes were playful. She tilted her head slightly, quizzically, only for her eyes to widen at the same time as his smile as she realised he was challenging her.

"Isaac…" Astrid said cautiously and watched as he began to crouch. She jumped when the Coach blew his whistle, signalling their climb. Isaac raced for the wall. "Cheat!" She yelled as she leapt after him, throwing herself part way up the wall. Matching her up with Isaac. She had strong legs, which helped to get her up, but her arms were kinda frail in comparison. Isaac slowly sped past her. She huffed as she tried to catch up and beat him to the top. They were about half way up when she realised that the four she'd left on the ground had paired off to cheer them on.

"Go on, Astrid!" She heard Stiles call up. She faintly noticed that Lydia was also cheering her on while Scott and Allison were betting on Isaac. She was obviously the disadvantaged one, which is why Stiles was cheering for her, and the girl, which is why Lydia was cheering her, whilst the other two were cheering to actually win. As she registered that Stiles was cheering her on, she felt an adrenaline surge rush through her. Her eyes flared blue and she felt her body enhancing itself as she gritted her teeth. With a sudden burst of grace and speed, she raced up the wall, closing the gap and re-lining up with Isaac as they reached the last quarter. She didn't stop there though, she saw Isaac's eyes widen as she raced past him, pulling herself to the top and then throwing herself back with a powerful kick, going as far back as her harness allowed, before zooming straight down and landing on her feet in a crouch.

Astrid was panting and her heart was racing as she tried to calm herself down from the rush that had given her. There was a stunned silence behind her, which she slowly turned to face as Isaac slowly hopped down next to her. With a sudden roar of noise, Stiles and Lydia screamed their successful choice. She was greeted with a multitude of congratulations and a reprimand. "Are you trying to kill yourself? Or are you just an adrenaline junkie?" Coach asked her in disbelief.

"I don't, know?" She questioned in reply, squinting one eye and turning her head slightly. He just shook his head before blowing his whistle and calling out the next pair of climbers, which were Scott and Allison.

"That was _awesome_!" Stiles exclaimed to her excitedly. "Like, just… Wow!" He flails his arms around slightly.

"Yeah? You really think so?" Astrid asked, scratching behind her ear with her head ducked down slightly in embarrassment as she looked at him through her lashes.

"Yes." Lydia put in matter-of-factly. "It really was incredible. And this is why women are the better gender. We don't make excuses." She emphasised the last word as she turned to face someone behind her. Follow her line of sight, Astrid saw the boy the Sheriff was talking to in the Principal's office rolling his eyes at Lydia's words.

Astrid raised a brow as she looked between the two. "That's Jackson." Stiles told her when he noticed who she was looking at. "He's the resident douche. Avoid him if you can."

"Okie dokie, then." Astrid relented. With a deep breath in she addressed both Stiles and Isaac. "He's not, human, is he?" She looked at the two shocked boys.

"He doesn't smell like a wolf." Isaac said with furrowed brows.

"He's not a wolf. But he's still not human." Astrid said. "Neither is Lydia, by the way."

"What!?" Stiles explained as he leant towards her with a flailing if limbs. "What do you mean Lydia's not human? She didn't turn into a wolf when Derek's crazy uncle bit her! She healed like a human!" He exclaimed.

"I heal like a human, but I'm not a human either." Astrid told him. Stiles made a lot of exaggerated hand motions and disbelieving facial expressions as a way of demanding more information. "Derek's not sure if I'm a succubus or a Cambion, which is the child of a human and either a succubus or incubus. And I'm an orphan, so I can't even ask my parents." Astrid explained.

She didn't know what Stiles' reply would've been since the class started laughing, including Isaac, and the two turned to see Scott slightly suspended above the ground and Allison with an amused 'wasn't me' look on her face. "McCall, I don't know what it is about your pain, that brings me a special kind of joy." He laughed sadistically to Scott. After that, Coach blew the whistle and called for the next climbers. "Alright! Next pair, Stilinski! Erica! Let's go!" He spun hand round as if to speed them up.

Astrid watched as Stiles and a blonde girl got geared up for their climb. The blonde girl seemed really nervous. Astrid wasn't sure how she knew, since the girl had her back to the class, but as Astrid focused her attention on the girl, it was as if she was also feeling the nerves. She felt as her body subtlety shifted to match the emotion before returning to normal. Astrid didn't think on it any further as they began to climb. Stiles practically flying up the wall while Erica nervously positioned herself and pulled up. She stopped about a third of the way up the wall as Stiles got to the top and abseiled back down. Astrid felt her breathing pick up, earning Isaac's attention, as she kept her focus on Erica.

"What's wrong?" Isaac asked as Stiles raised his arms in his success of completing the wall climbing.

"Something's wrong with Erica." Astrid said. She had been unintentionally loud, and the worry in her voice reached the majority of the class. This resulted in everyone turning their attention to the wall where Erica hadn't moved for a while. In the silence, they could hear her panicked breathing and gasps of fear.

"Hey, Erica?" The Coach was asking. "Are you dizzy? Is it vertigo?"

Lydia pulled a face of annoyance from next to Coach. "Vertigo is the dysfunction of the vestibular system of the inner ear!" She snapped before flicking her hands in Erica's direction and continuing with "She's just freaking out."

"Erica?" Coach called up again.

"I-I'm fine." Erica called back in a wobbly voice.

"Coach, maybe it's not safe, you know she's epileptic." Allison was asking the Coach.

"Wh-wh-why does nobody tell me this stuff?" He exclaimed. He lifted his head to look up at Erica again, trying for a more soothing tone of voice this time. "Erica, you're fine. Just, just kick off of the wall. There's, there's a mat. To catch you.." He was telling her. "Come on." He encouraged.

Astrid saw Erica nod, more to herself than anyone else before she pushed her arms so that she was leaning back. She violently shook her head as she desperately pulled herself back towards the wall again, clutching even tighter than before. "I can't do it!" Erica's panicked voice cried out.

"Stilinski, get that harness off so I can go up and get her." The Coach was directing as he kept an eye on Erica.

Astrid took a small running start, ignoring the call of her name from multiple voices, stopped barely an inch from the wall, bent as low as she could as she pulled her arms back. With surprising ease, she flung her arms up as she gave her strongest push with her legs, bringing her to just below Erica. Astrid quickly latched onto the wall, climbed up the last little bit in order to line herself up to Erica's height.

"Hey." Astrid greeted breathlessly. "How's it goin'?" She asked with a strained smile.

"Are you crazy? You're going to hurt yourself!" Erica told her in wide eyed concern.

"Who, me?" Astrid replied. "I'll be fine. I'm sturdy." She joked. She looked down at her feet, ignoring Coach's angry voice and Isaac and Stiles' worried calls, so that she could reposition her feet. Astrid twisted her left foot to face in and turned her left hand so that the outer side was touching the wall. When she felt secured, or as secured as she could at least, she hurriedly flung the right side of her body out. There were cries and shouts of shock and anger from below. She felt the breath get knocked out of her as her back hit the wall and she scrambled for a foot and hand hold.

"Oh my God!" Erica was muttering quietly to herself. "Oh my God, you're gonna fall, and break your neck, and it's gonna my fault." She whimpered.

"P-shuh! As if." Astrid disputed. "That'd be my own fault." She looked through the, very tiny, gap between Erica's body and the wall, trying to decide her next course of action. She had trouble focusing with all the noise from below. "Do you want me to fall!?" She snapped at the rest of the class and Coach. "Cause I will if you don't shut up!" She paused. "Sorry! That was rude. Please be quiet, the noise is distracting." When no more sound assaulted her ears, she called down a quick "Thank you!" Beginning to plan out her next set of actions, she tried to decide which movements would be dangerous, which would be deadly and which she could, possibly, pull off. Once she had analysed the placements of the foot and hand holds in front of Erica's entire body, she made her move. "Okay Erica, don't move a muscle. Except to breath. Those are perfectly fine muscles to use." She stated as she pushed both feet, one at a time, flat against the wall, leaving her on her tiptoes.

"Okay." Erica agreed.

Reaching out her arm under both of Erica's, she grabbed onto the small pink triangular protrusion, ensuring she had a proper grip, she then lifted her leg, stretching her body into the splits as she reached out and down, placing it on the blue rectangle on the other side of Erica's furthest leg. Once she was settled, she hurriedly moved her last arm and leg onto the just vacated holds after ducking her head under on of Erica's arms. Astrid had now firmly placed herself between Erica's body and the wall, surrounding herself with Erica. It was safer like this, because Erica was wearing a harness.

"Well, hey there, sexy." Astrid smiled charmingly at Erica, from where she had forcibly made Erica pin her. "Fancy meeting you here!" She said jovially. Erica let out a sound between a laugh and a sob as her eyes watered. Her returning smile was wavered and unsure. "Okie dokie! This is what we're going to do!" Astrid exclaimed brightly. "I'm going to hold onto the top of your harness, and you're going to wrap your arms around my neck and your legs around the back of mine." She explained. "Do that now, please." She added. Erica slowly brought one arm around Astrid's neck, then the other, followed by the same motion with her legs. "Good." Astrid smiled proudly. "I'm grabbing the harness now, okay?" She waited for Erica to nod before doing so with one hand. "I'm going to walk down, you'll hold onto my neck, and we'll get to the ground, easy peasy!" Astrid simplified. She could talk the talk, now she's gotta try to walk the walk. With a deep breath, Astrid released the wall with her other hand, grabbing the harness rope with both tightly. There was a sudden sag, for Erica it was backwards, for Astrid it was forwards. Both their hearts began to race furiously as adrenaline kicked in. Astrid slowly made her way down the wall to where the class had congregated on the mats below. They appeared to be watching with bated breath.

The walk was slow, but they got down with no problems. As Astrid stepped onto the mat, Erica's legs slid down, causing her grip to tighten before she realised they had touched ground as opposed to slipped. Erica let out a sigh of relief as she unwound her arms and legs from Astrid.

Erica slowly turned around after removing her harness. She looked nervously at Coach and the rest of the class. "That's alright, you're on the ground." Coach was comforting her. "You'll be alright, just shake it off. You're fine!"

It was with tearing eyes and a trembling lip that Erica walked through the class in order to get back to the girls changing room, with everyone else following suit after Coach had assigned four people to put the mats away.

The girls changing room was a roar of noise as the girls got ready for the rest of the day. It was as Astrid pulled her gym top off, that she realised why she felt like something was wrong. She couldn't see Erica. She spotted Allison and Lydia chatting as they changed and walked over to them, putting her arms through the sleeves of her normal top as she went.

"Hey, where's Erica?" Astrid asked them looking around.

Allison and Lydia stopped mid conversation to look around for the mentioned girl. "I don't see her." Allison stated uncertainly, leaning slightly towards the strawberry blond girl. Lydia nodded with furrowed brows and puckered lips, eyes tracking across everyone in the room.

Pulling the top over her head, Astrid made her way towards the door to the gymnasium, the two girls paused, glancing quickly towards one another, before following after her.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

As she walked through the doors to the gymnasium from the girls changing room, she saw Erica slip and fall from the climbing wall. The half bun Erica had pulled her hair into whipped up to hit the side of her face, which rapidly morphed into terror before she screwed her eyes tight as she hurtled towards the floor. Astrid had just taken a runners leap when Scott blurred into place under Erica's falling body, catching her instantly.

It was as Scott was gently placing her onto the floor, her body seizing as he did so, that the rest of their group and the coach met up with the three. Stiles sliding down next to Scott and Erica, Isaac standing by Astrid's bent form, and Allison and Lydia hovering around behind Scott and Stiles. In the panic, Allison stayed clam enough to order Scott to "Lay her on her side!" To which Scott instantly complied.

Stiles leant closer to Scott before his whispering in his ear. "How'd you know?"

Scott looked just as confused as Stiles did as he replied with "I just felt it."

Erica had been driven to the hospital in an ambulance after that.

Astrid was pulled out of her recollection of earlier that day by the sound of the bell ringing, signalling the start of lunch. Her vision focuses onto the present, taking in the back of Jackson the douche's head and his seating partner from where she sat behind them in biology. Following the trouble with Erica's epileptic seizure, the rest of the day had been slow. It was now four hours later and the start of lunch.

Once she stepped out of her classroom, she noticed Isaac leaning cockily against the opposite wall, waiting for her to come out. He pushed off with a self-assured smirk, bad-boy vibes radiating through his leather jacket. Astrid's rolled her eyes as he strolled up next to her. "You've let the power go to your head already." She sighed in exasperation.

"Don't say that!" He exclaimed in jester, wrapping an arm around her shoulders jovially. "I'm just comfortable in my own skin for once." He told her.

"Yeah, yeah. Okay." She sarcastically agreed. "Just don't abuse your power. Or you'll answer to me, the Underdog of Justice!" She declared with a fist pump.

"Come up with a better name first." He told her, holding the cafeteria door open for her. Astrid pouted. She wasn't good with coming up with names. And she liked that one. Stupid Isaac. She thought petulantly.

Astrid was shocked from her thoughts by the sudden increase of hormones rapidly firing around the canteen, sending a heated ache through her body. She gasped and grabbed hold of Isaac's arm to steady herself, head swivelling in the direction of the source as silence echoed through the room.

"Erica!?" Astrid exclaimed as she took in the other girl.

In the four hours they'd been apart, Erica had smoothed out and pumped up. Her hair had gone from fizzy to bouncing curls, skin from teen acne to smooth porcelain. She wore bold clothes, enhancing her assets to the extreme, and her makeup was attention grabbing, but not desperate. She was also wearing a leather jacket.

I'm noticing a pattern here. Astrid thought numbly

Erica's heels click-clacked across the floor before she leant over one of the tables, grabbed a boy's apple and took a seductive bite.

"What was that..?" Astrid asked, gently tugging on Isaac's arm, the smugness rolling off of him in waves. "What the hell was that!?" She hissed again as she yanked Isaac down to her height, his eyes widening slightly at the suddenness of it.

"I told Derek about her. He went and checked on her, and I guess he turned her." Isaac rushed out as they watched Erica's red lips curling up in satisfaction, before she turned on her heels and flounced away

"Why didn't I know about this!?" She continued to hiss. "When did you even tell Derek anything!?" She was persistently yanking on Isaac's arm as she demanded answers.

"A-after gym!" He blurted. "I text him. Told him her name and that she'd been taken to Beacon Hills Memorial."

Astrid glared at him some more. "And my lack of knowledge about this?" She asked in a dangerously calm voice. "I didn't think to tell you. Sorry." Astrid huffed as she let go of his arm, before storming out the canteen with squeaking shoes and racing towards where she could sense Derek out front. He hadn't pulled away yet, and with any luck, she could rip him a new one before he did so.

Astrid was jogging through the hallway parallel to the car park, and she could just make out Derek's car and Erica, who was climbing into said car with a self-important and smug look towards the building entrance. A few moments after Erica's door had closed, the Camaro pealed out of the parking lot. She let out a huff of annoyance whilst throwing her hands up, slapping her thighs as they swung back down.

She threw her head back with a groan as she swung herself around, ready to head back to the cafeteria and get some lunch, that she was hoping, the currently absent, Isaac she'd left behind had got for her. She stopped abruptly as Principle Argent's voice reached her ears.

"Ah, Mr. Stilinski!" He called out from the direction she had previously been headed. "Please come to my office, young man. I have something to discuss with you." Looking over her shoulder, Astrid watched curiously as a disgruntled Stiles trailed reluctantly behind the principle. Not even a minute later, a worried and put-out looking Scott circled the corner, heading towards her. She stayed quiet as he absent-mindedly walked passed her.

Following the corridor back to the canteen, Astrid pondered over everything she knew, everything she was aware she needed to be filled in on and the things she was just being nosy about. She found that Isaac had, in fact, got her lunch and was sitting on a table by himself, scaring everyone else off, should they dare to wander too close. Astrid rolled her eyes at the territorial behaviour, smiling as he perked up when he spotted her coming back over. Like a puppy. She mused to herself as she took a seat next to him.

There was a slight hiccup to the classes when Stiles gave her an unusually intense stare the first time he saw her after lunch, but other than that, the rest of the school day passed by in a monotonous blur.

Instead of heading back home to Derek's loft, Isaac and Astrid made their way to the abandoned train warehouse. Isaac decided it was in his best interest to stay back when Astrid stormed her way inside, stomping down the stairs grumpily. "Hey! Derek!" She shouted barrelling towards the cart in the room's centre, where Derek's legs could be seen through the opening. There was a sigh in response to Astrid's shout, a slight rustle of paper, and then Derek's legs being joined by his body as he stood up. He raised a sarcastic eyebrow in question, already fully aware of what was wrong from Isaac's warning text.

"Yes, Astrid?" Derek asked, voiced bordering on patronising.

"Why didn't I know about Erica being turned!?" She shouted accusingly. "Huh!? Why was I the only one in the dark!?"

"And what makes you think you had the right to know about who I turn and who I don't?" Derek questioned darkly.

"I-" Astrid faltered. "I just thought-"

"Just thought what, Astrid?" Derek interrupted, crossing his arms. Astrid flinched at his tone of voice. She'd been with him for just shy of a week, but she hadn't heard this tone before. "You got cocky. Your being full of yourself, thinking you have the right to know all the decisions I make. I'm the Alpha. I'm in charge. Just because I accepted you into my pack, doesn't mean you have the privilege" He spat. "To know every move I make in regards to it. If my decision will impact you, you will be notified of it, but otherwise, it's none of your business unless I say so." Derek growled out. "Got it?"

Astrid ducked her head. "Yeah." She whispered, wrapping one arm around her stomachs, the nails of her over hand scrapping up to the elbow and curling down again as her shoulders hunched. "Sorry."

Derek sighed, his face pinched slightly before smoothing out. "It's fine, this time. Don't get ahead of yourself again."

"'kay." Astrid replied.

"Now, about Erica." Derek started. "She'll have a harder time controlling her wolf, she'll also be more vicious. I've already explained this to her, but I expect the both of you to help her when necessary. Understand?"

Isaac, who had been awkwardly standing behind Astrid until now, and Astrid both gave a simultaneous call of; "Yes, sir."

"Good." Derek nodded. "Unlike you two, Erica won't be living in the loft with us. Both of you have unusual circumstances, so unless they expressly want to, none of the rest of the pack will be living there either. They'll remain in their own homes until they're old enough to move out."

"Does Erica know about this place…?" Isaac trailed off inquisitively.

"Yeah." Derek huffed, unfolding his arms. "She'll be coming over later, we'll stay here until then." He told them. "Until then, I'm going to teach you how to defend yourself."

Any confusion Astrid and Isaac felt, was soon dashed away and replaced with aches and exhaustion as Derek trained them into the ground. Literally.

"So, Derek believes in learning as you go, then." Astrid huffed out to Isaac. Both of them were bent forwards and panting for air. Isaac held himself up with his hands on his knees whilst Astrid had an arm wrapped around her front while the other braced her against the side of the train cart. They were currently having a ten minute break to regroup. They'd only been 'training' for thirty minutes, and Erica wasn't due for at least another round.

"Uh. I guess so." Isaac sighed. "You doing okay?"

Astrid flapped her hand in his general direction, still bent over as opposed to his more composed, if slightly sweaty, form. "I'll be fine. You know, as soon as I find my lungs again. And my heart. I'm pretty sure it ran away. Like, far away." She panted out, strands of hair sticking to her face. "Haaaa…" She sighed, knees buckling as she collapsed to the floor.

"Whoa!" Isaac exclaimed, grabbing onto her arm to pull her back up. "Let's get you into the cart. You can sit down for a bit." He told her as he began to guid her towards the cart doorway. At the doorway, Isaac's head snapped round as he raised his hand to catch a bottle of water. Looking pass the bottle, he noticed Derek standing tall, not even a hair out of place. He tipped his head towards Astrid, indicating that Isaac should give the bottle to her. Isaac nodded his understanding before continuing to guide Astrid in.

Flopping down into one of the seats, Astrid gratefully took the water bottle out of Isaac's hand, practically downing the bottle there and then.

"Feeling a bit better?" Isaac asked, faint humour hidden in his voice.

Astrid paused, the bottle still tipped to her lips' before she slowly lowered it to her lap. "Are you laughing at me?" She asked him. "Do you find my exhaustion funny?"

"Kind of, yeah." Isaac smirked at her. "It's nice being this strong." He bragged.

"You, sir," She started, pointing at him. "Are a jerk. Ya hear!? A jerk." With that she stuck her tongue out at him, and then poured the remaining water onto his head, causing Isaac to laugh at her while she rolled her eyes at his lack of concern for the water dripping off the ends of his hair.

The sound of clacking heals descending the stairs broke through their reverie. The two looked at each in confusion, interrupted only by the voice of Derek cracking through the room. "You're early." He stated.

"I made a quick jail-break." Erica's confident voice echoed in reply. "You don't mind, do you?" The words and tone were cocky, but her eyes held a hint of uncertainty underneath their predatory allure.

There was a slight pause, in which Erica shifted, somewhat uncomfortable, before Derek's mildly amused voice sounded out. "The earlier, the better."

"Welcome to the Hell of training." Astrid told her sarcastically. At Erica's look of confusion, Astrid's lips pulled up into an amused smirk.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

Astrid took pleasure in Erica's exhaustion. The fact that it wasn't as bad, nor lasted as long as her own, went ignored. Due to Isaac and Erica being wolves, and therefore having wolfish stamina, meant that they had to work harder, faster and longer than Astrid, with her barely average human stamina, did. Another thing she took sadistic joy from. The downside, however, was that Derek had her doing actual studying. Nothing that would actually be of use to the pack, and therefore interesting, but her school work. Apparently he wasn't oblivious to the fact she wouldn't have been able to get the past year of her education under her belt, and so was made to study while her adrenaline was still pumping.

So when two more hours had passed and Derek cleared his throat before calling an end to their training, Astrid happily slammed shut the book she was reading from, but only after finishing her sentence, with a sigh of relief.

"I still need to recruit one more member to the pack. A pack is only ever really stable when there is one Alpha, three wolf Betas, and a human to remind the wolves of their humanity." Derek explained to them.

"So, I'm kinda useless to the contribution of stabilising this pack then." Astrid muttered forlornly.

"That's not true." Derek told her, turning earnest eyes her way. "Every member of the pack helps with keeping it stabilised. You more of a secret weapon that this pack can fall back onto and rely on in case of an emergency." He stated. "For example, if you weren't part of the pack, Isaac would be a wanted man on the run. If it hadn't been for you, Stiles and I would've had to break him out."

Astrid nodded her understanding as Erica perked up. "Does that mean Stiles is the human of our pack?" She asked eagerly, her eyes bright.

Derek sighed and shook his head. "No." Erica's face dropped. "He's not. He'll be siding with Scott, and Scott has been refusing to join up due to…" Derek paused in consideration. "Personal issues between the two of us. If it weren't for that, Stiles would most likely be more than willing."

"What about the other one that was a potential member? The one you went to see along with Scott?" Astrid questioned.

"Also rejected the offer to join our pack. If he survives, he'll be an Omega wolf." Derek said gruffly as he folded his arms over his chest. "So, do either of you have any thoughts about who would be a good fit for our pack?" He directed to the two wolves.

Astrid also looked at them curiously as they thought. After a moment Isaac shrugged and shook his head, indicating he didn't have anyone in mind. Erica, on the other hand, hesitantly opened her blood red lips with a suggestion. "What about Boyd?" She asked. Isaac lit up in recognition at the name, while Derek looked at them in interest, and gestured for Erica to continue talking about Boyd with a flick of his wrist which was tucked under his other arm. "He's always alone, and doesn't really have any friends." Erica explained.

"Yeah, and he's the person the students go to if they want to use the ice rink after hours. Cause he works there, he'll lend out the keys for extra cash." Isaac butted in, having overheard the conversation between him and Stiles when they were in the canteen before Erica's stunt.

Derek nodded, his face pulled into an expression of thought. "Alright." He started slowly. "Can either of you get ahold of him?"

"Yeah!" Erica exclaimed. "We were paired up for a project before, and swapped numbers. I can call him out."

"Bring him to meet me at lunch time tomorrow. I'll wait for him in the car park." Derek order. "For now, we'll all go and get some rest at home." Derek dismissed, turning away as he went to get his discarded jacket and car keys. He was almost at the stairs, the teenage trio close behind, when he suddenly stopped and turned around to look at Astrid. "How did you know where Isaac was?" He questioned her, pointing her way with the keys, jacket laying over his arm. Seeing her lack of comprehension, he further explained. "When he was in the station. How did you know he was still there?"

Astrid shrugged. "I didn't." She answered truthfully. "I can track him, now. And you."

"How?" He demanded, his head jerking up in demand.

"I'm not completely sure, but it's kind of like I'm keeping track of my prey, or whatever." She shrugged helplessly, not entirely sure of what was happening with that herself.

Derek looked thoughtful for a moment, eyes squinted slightly in thought, before they flickered over to Erica and then back to Astrid again. "Kiss her." He ordered.

Stunned silence followed his order. Derek cocked a brow in demand, causing Astrid to internally shrug before turning to face Erica. From the corner of her eyes, she could see Isaac covering the amused smirk with his hand as he watched on. Erica's eyes widened considerably as she took in Astrid's advancing form, taking a self-conscious step back. "Wha-?" She started to protest before Astrid hooked one arm around the blonde girls waist, then reached the other hand up to tangle into Erica's hair so that she had leverage to pull the taller girl down. With two small tugs, Astrid had pulled Erica into her and then fused their lips together. The effect was instantaneous. Having not closed her eyes, Astrid saw as the pupils of the other girl blew wide before the Beta gold flared up and eyelids flutter closed.

Closing her own eyes, Astrid felt as Erica's arms snaked around her own body, dragging her closer still. A moan escaped her lips as Erica pushed her top up to put her hands on Astrid's back. The thrum of pleasure lighting up her veins and sending a slight tremor through her body, her tail uncurling from her waist to coil and whip in the air behind her. The vibration that accompanies a growl echoed through her chest as Erica pushed and pulled them closer still. The prick of claws along her back caused her to arch into the blonde with a breathless cry. Having tilted her head back, allowed Erica access to her throat where she licked and bit gently. Not having noticed Erica's hand moving, the surprise of her leg being pulled up around the blonde's waist had her gasping at the pleasurable shock to her system, her own talons slicing through the fabric at the back of Erica's top.

Which was when they were pulled apart.

The two girls were left panting, eyes lidded and glowing their respective gold and purple. Derek had a hand on each of their arms, holding them as far away from one another as he could, eyes red and emitting a dominating aura, commanding they submit to him. Both girls settled down after a few moments.

"So that's what kissing a sex demon is like." Erica huffed out with a wistful smile as she tried to regain her senses. Astrid's reply was a smug look and cocky smile. Isaac snorted from his place by the stairs, eyes dancing with amusement.

"Wait till you pin her to a wall. It's a whole new ball game." Isaac teasingly informed her.

Erica looked marginally intrigued, but before she could comment further, Derek rolled his eyes and gave their arms a gentle tug. "Come on. Time to go." He said as he wandered away from them, and towards Isaac, taking back the car keys and jacket he had tossed at the boy in order to separate them.

Sharing a look, the girls followed behind, meeting up with Isaac before following their Alpha out the warehouse and to the car. Where they proceeded to argue over who sat in the front. Astrid won with a gentle touch to each teens arm and a hypnotic; "Let me sit shot gun." And flirty smile. They relented quickly, causing Astrid to fist-pump her victory and miss the calculating look Derek's eyes held while the two Beta wolves climbed into the back.

The drive to Erica's was loud. The teens spent the entire ride trying to out sing the other with their own choice of song. Derek was a cross of amused and annoyed as their voices reached higher and higher volumes. The singing died instantly when Erica's house came into view and they said their goodbyes to one another. "Don't forget to contact Boyd." Derek told Erica gruffly, earning an obedient and happy nod, before she waved to the car as a whole and walked up to her house. Derek waited until the front door had closed behind her before pulling back out onto the road.

"Derek…" Astrid called quietly from where her head was rested on her hand and leant against the window.

Derek's eyes momentarily flicked from the road to her and then back again. "Yeah?"

"I've fed more in the past week than I have in a month, but, every now and then, I'll still feel a tug of hunger." She told him worriedly. "On top of that, since I shifted, when I feed I shift involuntarily." She looked at him with wet eyes. "What if, instead of getting better control, I'm getting worse?"

"You're not." He told her confidently. "You're stabilising."

"What do you mean?" Astrid asked confused.

"Before, you were on the run, it wasn't safe and you were consciously, as well as subconsciously, rejecting what you are." Derek explained. "Now that you do accept what you are, and have somewhere to turn when you need to, you're maturing." Astrid nodded along to what he was saying, her brows furrowed in concentration. "You used to push feeding back to once a month, which is why you'd drop bodies, in order to sustain yourself enough for the next run. Now that you don't need to run, you can feed regularly and without, or at least with a minimal, risk to another person's life."

"Hmm…"Astrid hummed contently, oblivious to the confused, and mildly accusing, look Isaac was sending Derek. Derek's eyes flared red in a silent command for Isaac to remain silent about the irregular beating of his heart.

Astrid opened her eyes to a familiar room, which she had never actually entered. She was standing next the bed, on which lay a sleeping Stiles. _Cute..!_ Astrid thought giddily. Letting out a sigh as she looked around, she pursed her lips and poked Stiles to see what would happen.

She was greeted by silence.

She raised a challenging brow before prodding him continuously until Stiles emitted a deep groan and rolled away. With a proud smile, Astrid performed a quick spin-jump and landed so that she was sat on the bed facing away from the teenage boy, and then proceeded to drape herself backwards and over him.

Raising her hand, she gently stroked the side of his face, to which he let out a soft sigh in response. "Stiles…" She called softly. "Oh, Stiles..!" she sang again, amusement coating her words as his face twitched, and a grumble of butchered words sounded from the sleeping boy. Astrid rolled onto her front, bringing her arms up and stretching as she did so.

After a bit of shuffling and maneuvering, she was on the bed and straddling the boy. With a wiggle and a sigh, Astrid snuggled up to Stiles, head over his heart and one hand fisting his shirt in front of her face. Her eyes fluttered close to the slow and steady rhythm of his heart, her whole body relaxing, muscles uncoiling and all tension melting away.

She stayed like that for a while, before her surroundings began to become fuzzy and blur away until there was only the bed, until there was only Stiles, until there was only sensation and the sound of his heartbeat.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

The next day had Astrid jerking awake with a sharp inhale of breath. She sat frozen, looking around her room with panicked eyes and a thundering heart. There was the sudden sound of running outside her room just before the door burst open to reveal a shirtless Isaac and a red-eyed Derek.

"I'm okay." She told them instantly. "Just shocked myself awake, is all." She said.

The pair looked at her for a few moments more. "You sure?" Derek checked, further questioning her with his eyebrows. Astrid's lips quirked up a bit.

"I'm sure." She replied with a nod and a more relaxed tone.

Derek nodded slowly for a moment, eyes narrowed, before giving a sharp nod and leaving the room, presumably to finish making her and Isaac breakfast.

When she could no longer hear her Alpha's footsteps, Isaac shifted a bot where he stood. "Did you have a bad dream?" He asked tentatively.

Astrid shook her head. "I don't think so…" She paused. "Just suddenly sat up." She shrugged lightly.

"Okay." Isaac nodded. "Okay. Well," He sighed. "I'm gonna go," He gestured behind him, out the door. "And finish getting ready."

"Okie dokie." Astrid agreed as he left, shutting the door on his way out. "Okie dokie…" She whispered once more to herself.

The whole morning, Astrid had been distracted, and before she knew it, lunch had snuck up. This class she hadn't shared with either Isaac or Erica, so hadn't expected to be grabbed on the way out, but she was.

"Hey, Astrid!" Stiles rushes out as he grabs her arm and begins pulling her down the corridor to the canteen.

"Stiles..?" Astrid wondered, confused. "What are you doing?"

"I'm your tutor, so we need to arrange days to meet real quick, okay? And I mean, like, really quick." Stiles spluttered as he continued to pull Astrid by the arm, stopping at an empty room near the canteen and pulling her in.

"Whoa!" She gasped out as she was yanked in after Stiles.

Stiles then proceeded to deposit her on a stool, put both their bags and the table and pull out their notebooks and pens. "Here's my number." He scribbled on her first blank page. "My study periods..." He continued scratching out. "And my address!" He finished with a flourish.

"Thank you..?" Astrid tilted her head.

"So," He huffed, looking at her expectantly. "When shall we meet up?"

"Meet… up?" Astrid questioned, still not quite up to speed on what was happening, and turning her head slightly, to look at the boy from the corner of her eye.

Stiles watched her for a moment before realisation spread across his face. "I was told you missed a year and need additional tutoring to catch up. I was assigned to tutor you." He explained.

"Oh." Astrid said with a vacant nod, before her eyes widened and she stated louder. "Oh! Okay!" She exclaimed. "Right, no, yeah. I get ya." Astrid continued nodding at a faster and more frantic speed. "Right... Um." She looked at what he had written into her notebook, ignore the vague feeling of glee she felt bubble in her chest at the sight of his number. "We have two study periods together, and outside of that, I'll call you?" She questioned, quickly circling the two study periods they shared.

"Great!" Stiles exclaimed, sitting straight and pointing at the sheet. "That great…" He fumbled into his pocket and pulled out his phone. "I'm just going to…" He said whilst hovering the device over the page, camera set up. "Take a picture…" He finished slowly as a bright flash went off. "I'll… talk to you later. Bye!" With that Stiles hurriedly gathered he's things, and raced out of the room.

"Okay." Astrid said to herself. "Bye." She waved at nothing, eyes still focused on the number he'd written in her book.

"Well, don't you look awestruck?" A cocky voice questioned rhetorically from the doorway.

"I'll say." A feminine voice drawled in reply.

Spinning around with a surprised gasp, Astrid quickly spotted her two pack mates, decked in their own leather jackets, each leaning on the sides of the entrance.

"Shut up." She muttered in embarrassment as she gathered her things and walked passed them.

"Derek said we should head on over to the warehouse." Erica told her. "To welcome Boyd into the fold. They've already left."

"Now?" Astrid questioned.

"Yep!" Isaac replied, straightening up and wrapping an arm over her shoulders and leading her out. "Now."

"But, school…" Astrid protested weakly as she was pulled along once more. "At least food...?" She said hopefully.

Isaac laughed while Erica replied cheerfully. "We'll grab something on the way."

And that was that. They left school, headed to get food, and made their way to the hideout.

Derek had already bitten Boyd by the time they got there, and after Derek introduced Boyd to the pack, they all ate together and chatted for a few hours before Boyd mentioned having to go and get ready for work, not long after the time school would've ended. They said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.

"I'm going to go for a walk." Astrid told Derek as she stood up and stretched. Rotating her head from side to side as she awaited his response.

"Are you sure you need to go now?" He asked with a frown.

Astrid frowned in return. "Well, I don't _have_ to, but I want to. Is that not good? I can go later."

Derek watched her for a moment, eyes flicking between the two of hers. She wasn't sure what he saw, but considering the relenting look that settled into his features, it was most likely the restless energy that had been thrumming through her for a while, and an agitation that wasn't leaving. "It's fine." He told her. "Go walk." He ordered kindly. "Work off some excess energy, we'll head out to complete some business. Isaac and I will meet you back home." He assured.

"Okie dokie." Astrid nodded. "Bye guys!" She waved as she ascended the stairway out, their farewells echoing up behind her.

Astrid had been walking for a while before her thoughts turned to Stiles, as they were wont to do. As her thought direction changed, so did the direction she was travel, not that she noticed as she pondered over the boy. She'd never had a crush before, so it was somewhat of a novelty to her. The warm, excited feeling he was experiencing. From what she knew of him from watching him when she could during school, he was funny, smart, and loyal, and she knew he was brave from what little Derek had mentioned of the happenings before she arrived in Beacon Hills. Derek spoke about Stiles as if he was annoyed by the teen, but also with a sort of reluctant admiration and fondness. She doubted even Derek was aware of it at the time, he had been in a pretty emotionally open mood. That instantly changed when he realised he had relaxed around her. Almost as if he was worried that if he relaxed even minutely, something terrible would happen.

Astrid was half past an alleyway when the sound of rustling and grunting reached her ears from inside. She looked down and noticed Stiles holding his head, whilst lifting himself from a dumpster. "Hah… Bitch." He cussed quietly.

"Stiles!?" Astrid called, quickly turning into the alley and rushing over to him

"Astrid!" He exclaimed in surprise, almost falling back as he flailed around slightly. "What are you doing here!?" He demanded.

"I was out on a walk." She said grabbing his hand and helping him out. "God! Are you okay!?" She questioned. "Should I call and ambulance?" She asked as she pulled his arm over her shoulders, balancing him whilst he regained his footing.

"No!" He yelped. "I'm fine, no ambulance!"

"Are you sure?" She asked incredulously.

"I'm sure." He nodded in confirmation. "I just need to… get out of here." He finished to himself absently.

Astrid helped him get back to his car, where he proceeded to curse and moan after noticing a metal contraption onto of the hood of his car. "I guess… the car needed that?" Astrid hesitantly said, concern in her voice.

"Yeah." Stiles replied running a hand over his head. "It did." He sighed, before groaning in realisation. "I'm gonna have to call my dad."

Stiles put off calling the Sheriff for now, in favour of ringing a mechanic to come pick the Jeep up. It was about twenty minutes of awkward and fidgety silence later that a tow truck came and drove them both to the garage whilst towing the Jeep behind them.

Astrid was sat down and fiddled around with her phone, occasionally messaging Isaac and Erica, whilst Stiles went to talk to the mechanic when he noticed what he came for was taking longer than it should have.

With her head down she barely noticed a shadow go past the window, and didn't even react to the slight jiggling of the door handle.

A moment later she heard Stiles sarcastically call the mechanic from the door. "A quality establishment, you're running here." He sighed as he came in, wiping his hand on his shoulder. Astrid glanced up at him from beneath her eyelashes, before quickly looking back down when he noticed. "Hey." He addressed her. "Sorry about all this." He said awkwardly. "And… you know, thanks." He patted his hands together. "For helping me earlier."

Astrid looked up with a smile, relieved that the tension had been reduced. "No problem." She assured him brightly. Stiles smiled back before looking down to pull out his own phone. Where he froze and made a few sounds of distress as Astrid watched him in concern which turned to panic when his phone slipped between his fingers and clattered to the floor. "Stiles?" She spoke hesitantly as she stood from her seat, putting her own phone down on the seat beside her. "What's wrong?"

Stiles didn't respond, instead looking up from his shaking hands and passed her to where the mechanic was working. "Oh..." He choked out quietly in panic. "Hey..!"

"Stiles!" Astrid called again, reaching for him as he swayed.

"He-he-hey!" He spluttered out again, more urgently this time towards the mechanic.

Before Astrid could check what was going on, Stiles collapsed. "Oh my, God! Stiles!" Astrid cried, kneeling next to him.

"Help…" Stiles coughed out. "Call… help." He demanded.

"Okay!" Astrid pushed herself up. "Just a second! Im on it, okay!? I'm doing it now!" Astrid rushed out as she stood up and grabbed her phone from the seat, dialing emergency services, when she happened to glance up and out the window where she saw the mechanic also collapsed and the car lowering down onto him whilst he called for help. "Oh my God!" Astrid exclaimed again, dropping her phone by Stiles as it rang through, rushing out of the small room and over to the collapsed man. She vaguely heard Stiles pleading for help just as she was halfway to the man. "I'm coming, hang on!" She tried to assure him, his eyes widened at the sight of something behind her, before she felt a sharp sting across the back of her neck. She ignored it in favour of kneeling next to the man and grabbing his arm. A wave of sick dizziness raced through her body as she began to pull him out from under the car.

"Hurry…" He whispered pleadingly.

Astrid felt her limbs becoming weak and loose. Her muscles giving out as she continued trying to pull him. She gulped back the pooling saliva in her mouth as she persisted in trying to help, but was interrupted by a hissing sound, before a scaly hand wrapped itself around her arm, claws pricking her skin and increasing the sickly paralysing feeling. She turned her head and met a pair of slit yellow eyes, glaring at her from a scale covered and hissing through pointed teeth. Astrid felt her own eyes flash and her extra appendages try to force their way out, but was stopped barely half way when the lizard creature flung her across the room.

The last thing she heard before hitting her head and being knocked out by the exploding pain was the sound of Stiles screaming her name and the screeching of the man as his hips and legs were crushed, due to her not being strong enough to pull him out completely.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

The first thing Astrid heard when she woke up, was a heart monitor. The constant beeps an agitation to her ears.

Astrid opened her eyes with a groan of pain, before blinking a couple times at the lights and then squinting until she was used to it.

"Hey, hey, hey!" She heard someone protest as a large, warm and gentle hand touched her shoulder and held her down when she tried to sit up. "You need to take it easy."

"Who..?" She questioned squinting at the black blur that slowly formed into Derek. "What happened?" She asked.

"Shh…" Derek told her, holding a finger to his lips. "Visiting hours are over." He whispered. "Gotta stay quiet."

Astrid nodded. "Okay." She whispered back, she noticed the pain had eased and she could see black veins pulsing up Derek's hand and arm. She pushed it to the back of her mind, and focused more on his presence. "How did you..?" Astrid asked, unsure of how he came to know she was here.

"The Sheriff called me, since you have me listed on your phone as your emergency contact." He explained. "What do you remember?" He prompted. "Sheriff Stilinski told me what Stiles could see, but other than that…" He trailed off.

"How's the mechanic?" She deflected.

Derek's face shuttered. "He... didn't make it." He said. "Even though you'd pulled him out a bit, which would have left him crippled, his throat was slashed. You the only one who was close enough to have possibly seen who it was."

"So, I didn't help at all. I just made it so he suffered longer." She said, her voice clogged with sadness. She pursed her lips and furrowed her brow whilst turning away from Derek.

"Hey!" He demanded, grabbing her chin gently and pulling her face towards him again, forcibly meeting her eyes. "This isn't your fault. You did what you could in a bad situation."

"Kay." She said. Derek didn't look convinced, but let it go.

"They found a paralytic venom at the garage." He informed her as he sat back and crossed his arms. "It was on the handle, which is why Stiles collapsed." Astrid nodded. "There was also traces of it in the scratches on the back of both your neck and the mechanic's and the pricks circling yours. The Sheriff had it sent off to forensics, but they won't be able to identify its source."

"Because it's venom from a supernatural creature." Astrid finished.

Derek nodded. "Exactly." Astrid let out a sigh and closed her eyes, not noticing as she faded back to sleep, and only vaguely aware that Derek stayed with her.

Astrid was made to sit out on training when she was released from the hospital the following afternoon, so she watched from the stairs, where she sat next to Boyd. Watching Isaac and Erica try to beat Derek over and over, only to fail to beat Derek over and over, was funny. Even Boyd thought so.

It wasn't so funny when Derek began to lose his patience with the lack of improvement. Derek stalked across the floor with a tight look of agitation. "Does anyone wanna _try_ not to be completely predictable?" He'd barely finished asking the annoyed questioned when Erica jumped him.

As they were making out, Astrid jokingly asked. "Do you think I could take credit for that move? I am the, possible, Succubus after all." She grinned cheekily when Boyd rolled his eyes just as Derek threw Erica away from him and onto the floor, next to a downed Isaac.

Boyd walked over to stand behind Erica and Isaac. "Don't ever do that." Derek ordered, pointing to Erica.

"Why?" She sassed. "Because I'm a _Beta_?" She mocked.

"No." Derek stated with raised eyebrows. "It's because I have somebody else in mind for you."

Everyone looked confused with Derek's statement. Until Isaac spoke up. "Are we done?" He huffed, pulling himself up. Astrid made her way over to them. "Cause I have a hundred bones that need a few hours to kill." Astrid could hear the strain in his voice.

Derek looked at Isaac whilst tilting his head, watching as Isaac rubbed his wrists, before nodding and stepping forwards to crouch down as he took Isaacs arm in hand, stretching it out. "Here?" He asked. Isaac nodded.

"Are you going to teach them that pain-removing trick?" Astrid asked from behind Derek. He froze momentarily before looking over his shoulder at her briefly.

"You noticed that, then?" Derek questioned.

Astrid nodded. "Yep!" She popped. Derek nodded slowly, and turned back to his Betas.

Black veins pulsed up his hand and arm as Isaac let out a sigh of relief as the pain receded. "How did you..?" Isaac questioned.

"You just do." Derek said, before breaking the bone in his arm. Isaac screamed in pain as Derek flipped him onto his back. "I'm not teaching you how to fight, I'm teaching you how to survive." Derek told them, watching as Isaac panted in pain. "Breaking a bone, will jumpstart and speed up the healing process." Letting Isaac go, he turned to Erica and Boyd. "See if one of you can take his pain." He ordered before turning to pace.

Erica put her hands on Isaac's arm and focused on trying to remove his pain, Astrid crouched down next to him and helped to hold him up. "If they wanted us dead, why aren't they coming for us now!?" Isaac demanded as Derek looked away. "What are they waiting for?"

Derek faced his Betas again. "I don't know." He admitted. "But you, especially, know that's not our only problem." Derek said walking forwards. "Whatever that thing is that killed Isaac's father, I think it killed someone else last night. I think it's the same thing that put Astrid in the hospital." He said roughly. "And until I find out what it is, you all need to know everything I know!" Derek turned away again, heading for the cart. "As fast as I can teach you." He finished saying over his shoulder before opening the door and going inside of the cart.

"I think he's worried." Astrid told the other three. They sent her looks of disbelief. "What?" She demanded indignantly. "He already lost one pack, he obviously doesn't wanna lose another. And yeah," Astrid nodded, considering. "He _may_ be a _little_ rough around the edges and go about some things wrong, but, _you know_. He's trying." She said, shrugging awkwardly.

"I'd appreciate it if there was less pain involved." Isaac told her.

"That might be how he was taught." Astrid said. "I mean, he was born a wolf, maybe the training was rougher than what we would expect, having been raised as humans."

Before they could reply, Astrid's name was called from inside the cart. "Astrid! Come here!" Derek called.

"Gotta jet." She told them as she headed into the train cart. "What's up?" She asked, sitting down opposite Derek.

"I need you to tell me what you can about the creature that was at the mechanic's last night." He told her, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees as he looked up into her eyes.

Astrid nodded. "I didn't get a great look, but I can tell you what I did get." She told him.

"That's all I'm asking." He assured her with a nod.

"It was kinda like a giant lizard." Astrid started. Derek nodded for er to continue when she paused. "Scaly. Green. Claws. Its eyes were yellow and slitted." She told him. "I didn't see much else." She told him. "Technically I didn't see the claws either. Them I felt." She finished, pursing her lips and furrowing her brow as she bobbed her head.

"Okay. Thank you, Astrid." Derek told her, looking into her eyes earnestly.

She smiled. "No problem."

"Also," Derek started suddenly, looking mildly apologetic. "I'm gonna need you to kiss Boyd too. So you can track him." He shrugged with a slightly amused smile.

Astrid rolled her eyes with an exasperated sigh. "No problem."


End file.
